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Thousands under evacuation near Los Angeles as wildfire torches homes

Over 10 thousand people were bought to leave communities northwest of Los Angeles as strong seasonal winds drove a wildfire down tinderdry hillsides into ranches and homes, authorities said.

Firemens and cops cleared citizens from areas near Camarillo before homes were fired by ashes blown two miles (3.2 km) from the fire front, Ventura County fire department Captain Tony McHale said by phone from near the blaze.

It resembles trying to put out a blowtorch with a squirt weapon, said McHale of the fire which began in a hillside canyon on Wednesday then tore west, driven by Santa Ana winds.

Fueled by plentiful turf and scrub, with wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour (130 kph), the blaze has burned over 14,500 acres ( 5,900 hectares), authorities stated.

Climate scientists state warming temperatures have created damp winters that permit California's seaside chaparral - small trees, shrubs and bushes - to prosper. Record-high temperatures this summer have actually turned hillsides into dark bonfires.

Several civilians were injured and a significant number of homes, companies and other structures damaged, McHale stated, including that it was too harmful to enter the area to assess damage.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the fire threatened 3,500 structures.

Schools in Ventura County were closed through Friday due to the fires, according to the county's office of education.

The fire broadened in size on Wednesday after powerful winds entered contact with extremely dry air.

Southern California Edison began turning off power to consumers in areas where its devices was thought about at high danger of sparking a wildfire, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The United States is experiencing a strong wildfire year with 8.1 million acres burned to date, compared with an annual, full-year average of around 7 million acres over the last years, according to National Interagency Fire Center data.

California wildfires have up until now this year burned more than three times as much land as last year at this time when the state's fire season was more benign, according to Cal Fire information.

(source: Reuters)