Wildfire danger in California is increasing with high winds and low humidity

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California was hit by strong winds Wednesday that fueled a fast-spreading wildfire near millions of dollars of property along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, as forecasters warned of the possibility of “extreme and life-threatening “ Fires warned.

Los Angeles County fire crews scrambled to contain the wildfire near Malibu's Broad Beach as authorities closed the famous coastal road. Residents were urged to seek shelter as aircraft dropped water on the 16-acre Broad Fire. According to the fire department, two buildings burned down.

Meanwhile, the fast-spreading mountain fire northwest of Los Angeles triggered evacuation orders for several communities in an agricultural area near Santa Paula in southern Ventura County.

Andrew Dowd, a county fire department spokesman, said he had no details about how many people had to be evacuated or how many buildings were damaged.

“There are a number of homes that have been affected by fires,” he said. “It’s a fast-moving fire.”

Tens of thousands of people across the state had their power shut off as a precautionary measure.

The National Weather Service's Los Angeles office has changed its warning of increased fire danger by labeling it a “rare” “particularly hazardous situation.”

With forecast gusts between 50 miles (80 km/h) and 100 miles per hour (160 miles per hour) and humidity as low as 8%, conditions that could lead to “extreme and life-threatening” fires could prevail in parts of Southern California through Thursday, the weather service said.

Officials in several counties urged residents to watch out for fast-spreading fires, power outages and downed trees amid recent notorious Santa Ana winds.

“Those in canyon, mountain and foothill communities should be prepared to evacuate at any time,” the LA County Office of Emergency Management said on X. Some canyon roads were closed as a precaution and fire departments placed resources in fire-prone areas.

The last update on the size of the Mountain Fire was 248 acres (100 hectares) around 9:15 a.m., but Dowd said the size has grown significantly since then. Due to the extreme wind conditions, fixed-wing aircraft had to remain on the ground.

Several people were injured and taken to hospitals, the Ventura County Fire Department said. However, it was not immediately clear how they were injured.

The fire crossed State Route 118 and spread into the Camarillo Heights neighborhood, prompting additional evacuations.

In southern Orange County, firefighters said ash and debris had been raised from the fire Airport firethat swept through the area earlier this year due to strong winds, but no active fires were reported there as of Wednesday. Gusts whipped through coastal towns, knocking down tree branches and toppling large trash cans.

Forecasters also issued red flag warnings through Thursday from California's central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area to counties north.

According to the weather service in San Francisco, sustained winds of 30 mph (48 km/h) are expected in many areas, with possible gusts of over 55 mph (88 km/h) on mountain peaks.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said it preemptively shut off power to a small number of customers late Tuesday in areas where strong gusts could damage electrical equipment and start fires.

More than 20,000 customers in 17 Northern California counties were without power Wednesday morning after Pacific Gas & Electric shut off power to prevent its equipment from starting fires in dry and windy conditions.

Southern California Edison also preemptively shut off power to more than 46,000 customers on Wednesday, including more than 12,000 in Los Angeles County. Due to the risk, power cuts for more than 200,000 customers are being considered, the company said on its website.

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Associated Press journalists Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, and Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.