California wildfires: One dead as Los Angeles blaze spreads quickly in peak season

Thousands have evacuated from their homes, as dry winds whip up the flames

Hot and extremely dry conditions in California have caused a wildfire to grow to nearly 5,000 acres outside of Los Angeles, threatening thousands of homes and leading to mandatory evacuations for more than 100,000 as the state enters peak wildfire season.

The fire, dubbed the Saddleridge Brush Fire, started on Thursday evening, and quickly grew from 60 acres to 4,600 over an 11-hour period, officials said on Friday.

None of the blaze was contained by firefighters as of Friday afternoon, as winds from inland whipped the San Fernando Valley blaze. At least one man was reported dead after suffering a cardiac arrest as flames threatened the region, and one firefighter reportedly suffered an eye injury.

As firefighters worked to contain the blaze, images and video posted online by fleeing residents painted an alarming portrait of the scene, just a year after devastating fires left 103 people dead.

“Do not wait to leave. If we ask you to evacuate, please evacuate,” Los Angeles Fire Department chief Ralph Terrazas said Friday morning during a press conference.

As of Friday afternoon, neighbourhoods including the affluent area of Porter Ranch were under mandatory evacuation orders. Some reports indicated that the blaze had moved so quickly that firefighters in certain places were unable to warn residents in time.

Around 1,000 firefighters were on scene, and officials said they were expected to be there fighting the flames back for days to come.

At least 25 homes had been damaged by the flames, but officials were still conducting damage assessments as Friday wore on.

With residents fleeing from the area north of LA, photos and videos showed the flames running alongside the road, illuminating the night with raging red and oranges.

“The glow that surrounded us was so bright orange, it looked like it was in our backyard,” Christie Lugo Leigh, a resident who was evacuated with her daughter and dog, told KTLA in a phone interview.

But, it wasn’t just humans who were being evacuated as quickly as possible. Judy-Lee Chen Sang posted a video of horses being evacuated on her way out, as she was helping her niece get away from a home she was house sitting at.

“I was helping my niece who was house sitting 3 minutes from our home,” she said in a Twitter direct message to The Independent. “The person’s house the fire was coming up close. This is Zelzah just north of Rinaldi and there is an equestrian centre. They were starting the staging & evacuation of the horses in the area. We are fine.”

The fires were exacerbated by the so-called Santa Ana winds, which are warm gusts that blow down from the mountains inland from the Pacific Ocean. They brought maximum winds of 46mph on Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

The Saddleridge Fire was not the only blaze in California, however.

In nearby Calimesa, a trash truck had caused a fire after a load of burning trash was spread into weeds and vegetation. And, across the state, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said they were responding to at least seven fires.