Andrew Hay
(Reuters) – A wind-driven wildfire that broke out on a hillside above the Southern California city of San Bernardino was brought under control on Tuesday, destroying several homes and forcing evacuations, firefighters reported.
Video from local station KTLA 5 showed at least five homes destroyed after a fast-moving brush fire spread to upscale homes overlooking the city of 220,000 people about 55 miles (88 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the fire started on Monday and burned an area of 100 acres (40 hectares), and has since been basically controlled.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
After a wet winter and spring, warmer-than-normal temperatures and abundant vegetation have brought ideal burning conditions to the nation’s most populous state. Experts say climate change is causing more severe and prolonged heat waves.
Another fire, in the forested mountains north of Sacramento, has become the fourth-largest fire ever recorded in California, burning an area larger than the city of Los Angeles and spanning two counties.
The fire, known as the Park Fire, broke out on Monday, burning more than 12,000 acres and prompting more evacuations in the Mill Creek area, Cal Fire reported.
Dry forests, high temperatures and steep ravines make it difficult to fight the blaze, which has destroyed about 640 homes and other buildings.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire had burned 414,042 acres and was 34% contained.
