Thousands of people are under mandatory evacuations as wildfires spread rapidly out of control in Southern California.
The fire also threatens thousands of homes, businesses and other structures in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles.
The wildfires that started Thursday spread quickly overnight Saturday, leading California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency.
As of Sunday afternoon, the fire on the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest had grown to about 17,459 acres (27 square miles) with 0% containment.
It is currently the fifth most active wildfire in California, quadrupling in size on Saturday.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department issued evacuation orders for residents of Running Springs and Arrowbear Lake on Sunday morning.
The area has a total population of more than 6,000 people, according to BBC America partner CBS News.
Communities in Green Valley Lake, Cedar Glen, Lake Arrowhead, Crestline and Valley of Enchantment were told they may have to leave at short notice.
Fire officials said 35,405 structures were threatened by fire, including family homes, commercial buildings and other “small structures.”
Highland resident Brian Gano, who was trying to put out the fire with a hose with his wife and son, told KCAL News, “Because the wind changed direction, the fire came directly toward us.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Officials said current weather conditions are “resulting in very erratic behavior along the fire line” and the area is extremely dry.
Smoke-filled skies posed a challenge for aircraft and limited their access to parts of the fire.
Three firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.
Hot, dry weather and thunderstorms are expected to continue to pose challenges for firefighters in the coming days.
Dangerously hot weather is expected to hit the southwestern United States and southern California early next week.
From 1996 to 2021, the area burned during the summer in northern and central California increased fivefold compared with the previous 24 years, scientists attribute to human-caused climate change.
Every wildfire is not automatically directly linked to climate change. The science is complex, and human factors (such as how we manage land and forests) also play a role.
But scientists say climate change is making weather conditions such as heat and drought more likely to lead to wildfires.
