Powerful wildfires are spreading across over 10,000 acres in Southern California, causing thousands of residents to evacuate and leaving thousands more without power.
The pair of fast-moving fires ignited Wednesday morning forcing the evacuation of 10,000 residents of the Somis and Camarillo areas — and the relocation of farm animals like horses to the Ventura County Fairgrounds, according to KTLA.
Both wildfires — the larger Mountain Fire and the more localized Broad Fire — were 0% contained as of Wednesday evening, authorities said.
Southern California Edison cut power to Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernadino counties Wednesday as the Mountain Fire spreads across the region aided by the Santa Ana winds, the outlet reported.
More than 3,500 homes and businesses were threatened by the blaze which was fueled by one of the most extreme wind events in years, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The winds reached up to 40 miles per hour and are preventing firefighters from getting aerial support in the form of water-dumping helicopters and planes, according to ABC News.
“It’s like trying to put out a blowtorch with a squirt gun,” Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Tony McHale said in an interview with KABC-TV.
Several people are being treated at local hospitals for smoke inhalation, Ventura County authorities said, according to KTLA.
“We do know we’ve lost homes, we do know we’ve had homes damaged, and we know of injuries but I do not have any counts,” Public Information Officer Scott Detorre told ABC News.
The National Weather Service has issued a rare red flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura Counties — including for Malibu and the San Gabriel Mountains, where wind gusts could reach nearly 100 miles per hour, ABC reported.
A second wildfire broke out in Los Angeles County’s Malibu area on Wednesday, ABC News reported. That fire — named Broad Fire — has burned 50 acres southwest of the Pacific Coast Highway near Pepperdine University, according to CAL Fire.
An investigation is underway as to the cause of each fire, according to CAL Fire.
FEMA officials announced federal funds will be used to assist in the response to the Mountain Fire.
