MOORPARK, Calif. — California was buffeted Wednesday by strong winds fueling a fast-moving wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of residents to flee, as forecasters warned of the potential for “extreme and life-threatening” fires.

northwest of Los Angeles, Mountain Fire explodes on a massive scale, prompting evacuation orders For more than 10,000 people as it threatens 3,500 structures in suburban communities, farms and agricultural areas around Camarillo, according to a statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom. He said he was requesting federal aid for the area east of the Pacific coast city of Ventura.

A dense cloud of smoke rose hundreds of meters into the sky, covering entire neighborhoods and limiting visibility for firefighters and evacuees. The fire grew from half a square mile (62 square kilometers) to 16 square miles (62 square kilometers) in just over five hours.

The Ventura County Fire Department said several people were injured and taken to hospitals, but it was not immediately clear how they were injured.

Houses on fire in Camarillo as wind pushes flames from roof to roof

Weather meteorologist Bryan Lewis said erratic winds and limited visibility grounded fixed-wing aircraft and gusts exceeded 60 mph. Water-dropping helicopters were still flying.

Aerial footage from local television networks showed dozens of homes in flames in many neighborhoods as embers flew from house to house. Other images show horses running alongside evacuation vehicles.

Jade Katz, who said she is disabled and does not drive, waited for a friend to pick her up near her Camarillo Heights home with a bag of medications and her Great Dane service dog, Bella, as she watched the neighborhood burn. But when his friend couldn’t reach him, first responders sent a squad car to escort him to safety.

Ventura County fire spokesman Andrew Dowd said he did not have details on how many structures were damaged.

Gus Garcia, who owns a ranch south of the fire, said he is waiting to see if conditions change before deciding whether to evacuate his horses and cattle. At around 12:30 p.m., his animals were still safe and he was trying to get out of the way while others were taking their animals out.

His farm is surrounded by horses and alpacas, among others, and Garcia said his neighbors in the canyon didn’t seem alarmed.

“The horse community is preparing for this because it is always a possibility here,” he said.

Firefighter’s family describes escaping flames as their home burned

Meanwhile, to the south, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a wildfire near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities briefly closed the Pacific Coast Highway as flames burned near multimillion-dollar properties. Residents were asked to shelter in place as planes dropped water on the 50-acre (20-hectare) Large Fire area. By around 12:30 p.m., 15% was contained and forward progress was halted. Fire officials said two structures burned.

The Los Angeles-area National Weather Service office replaced a red flag warning of increased fire danger with a rare “especially hazardous condition” label, and officials in several counties urged residents to remain alert for fast-spreading fires, power outages and falls. trees in the middle of the last round of the infamous Santa Ana winds.

Map of fires in California right now:

Our interactive map below tracks where fires are burning in California and what percentage of them are contained. Click on any fire icon to see more details about the wildfire in that area.

The weather service said parts of Southern California were “extreme and life-threatening” through Thursday, with winds forecast between 50 mph (80 km/h) and 100 mph (100 mph) and humidity levels as low as 8%. may encounter conditions ripe for “threatening” fire behavior. in question.

Forecasters also issued red flag warnings through Thursday from California’s central coast to the San Francisco Bay Area and counties to the north where strong winds are expected.

Utilities in California have begun shutting down power to equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger following a series of large and deadly wildfires sparked by power lines and other infrastructure in recent years. On Wednesday, more than 65,000 customers in Southern California and more than 20,000 customers in Northern California were without power.

Wednesday’s fires were burning in the same areas as other recent devastating fires, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles, which killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes, and the 2017 Thomas Fire, which destroyed more than a thousand homes and other structures near Los Angeles. Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both fires.