Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in southern California as a wind-driven wildfire spreads dangerously fast.
At least one home has been damaged in the blaze, which was first reported at 10am in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles, the Ventura County Fire Department said.
By mid-afternoon, it had consumed more than 500 acres of dry brush, causing evacuation orders to be issued for several neighbourhoods in Simi Valley, where more than 125,000 people live.
Watch Duty, a real-time fire alert service, put the blaze’s perimeter at more than 1,360 acres late on Monday evening, local time.
Named Sandy Fire, due to its location by Sandy Avenue, the flames were pushed by winds that surpassed 30mph, fire department spokesperson Scott Dettorre said.
These subsided during the afternoon and were expected to calm down further by the evening, Dettorre said on Monday.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
An evacuation point and two animal shelters have been established by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Meanwhile, firefighters are also battling a 15-square-mile blaze on Santa Rosa Island, the second-largest of the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast, in which an estimated 14,600 acres have burned.
The fire, first reported on May 15, has destroyed two historic buildings and an equipment shed, and forced the evacuation of multiple National Park Service employees.
Officials have called it the largest fire to ever be recorded on the island.
The land is a popular destination for camping and hiking, and home to several rare species and plants, such as island foxes, as well as spotted skunks and elephant seals.
Windy conditions initially made it difficult for firefighters to reach the blaze, a fire information officer told reporters.
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