Thousands of people in Southern California were ordered to flee a raging wildfire that burned out of control on Wednesday in a rural mountain area, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group said.
The Blue Cut fire in Cajon Pass, about 100 km East of Los Angeles, started on Tuesday morning and by Wednesday had mushroomed to an inferno covering more than 121 square km.
The authorities said that more than 82,000 people were under a mandatory evacuation order in the face of what authorities called “imminent threat to public safety, rail traffic and structures.
News video showed houses on fire and at least one local business, a well-known roadside diner, has been destroyed in the blaze, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The fire closed a maze of roads, including a major interstate highway linking Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
More than 1,300 firefighters were battling the fire but had yet to gain control, authorities said.
Air tankers and helicopters swept over the flames as ground crews from more than 150 fire trucks fought the blaze from below.
Two firefighters were injured on Tuesday when a firefighting team was trapped by flames.
Bone-dry, gusty winds and temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius in the area were expected to fan the flames at least through to Thursday.
California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County, saying the fire was too big for the region to fight alone.
In his order, Brown linked the severity of the blaze and others burning in the state to a five-year drought that has turned fields and forests to tinder and killed millions of trees across the state, leaving ready fuel for fire.
The Blue Cut fire is the latest wildfire to erupt in an early fire season that has left eight people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes across the state.
Officials fear there may be worse to come once seasonal hot Santa Ana winds begin to blow in September. (dpa/NAN)