California wildfires force thousands to flee homes

Thousands of hectares burned as winds drive flames in western US state

A firefighter assesses the damage of a home from the Tick Fire in Santa Clarita, California. AP Photo

Firefighters work at a home destroyed by the Tick Fire in Canyon Country. AFP

Firefighters work at a home destroyed by the Tick Fire in Canyon Country. AFP

A firefighter extinguishes a brush fire lit by the Tick Fire in the hills next to a factory near Santa Clarita. EPA

A firefighter works at an industrial facility heavily damaged by the Tick Fire in Canyon Country. AFP

Smoke rises from the burnt structure of a factory during the Tick Fire near Santa Clarita. EPA

Firefighters work at extinguishing the Tick Fire in a factory near Santa Clarita. EPA

A utility pole burns during the Tick Fire in Canyon Country. AFP

A man uses a garden hose to water down a rooftop as the Tick Fire burns nearby in Canyon Country. AFP

Firefighters work at extinguishing the Tick Fire in a factory near Santa Clarita. EPA

Firefighters work at extinguishing the Tick Fire in a factory near Santa Clarita. EPA

A fire department helicopter drops liquid to extinguish the Tick Fire in a neighborhood near Santa Clarita. EPA

Firefighters work at extinguishing the Tick Fire in a factory near Santa Clarita. EPA

A car burns at the edge of a vineyard after the Kincade Fire burned through the area near Geyserville. EPA

People drive on a freeway as the Tick Fire burns in nearby Canyon Country. AFP

About 50,000 people were ordered to flee their homes in California on Thursday as a fast-moving wildfire driven by high winds erupted and raged out of control.

The so-called Tick Fire near Santa Clarita, about 65 kilometres north of Los Angeles, broke out in the early afternoon and quickly consumed 2,023 hectares, fire officials said.

The blaze burned several homes and structures and forced the closure of a major highway and a number of roads, as about 500 firefighters backed by air tankers and helicopters battled the flames.

There were no immediate reports of injury.

"We are urging everybody to evacuate at this time," a spokesman for the fire department said.

The fire erupted as much of the state was under a red flag warning because of gusty winds, high temperatures and low humidity which make for perfect conditions for wildfires.

In northern California wine country, about 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate after a brush fire erupted late on Wednesday, quickly growing from a blaze of a few hundred acres into a 6,500-hectare inferno, California fire officials said.

About 500 responders battled the fire fed by wind gusts topping 113 kph.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for the community of Geyserville and nearby vineyards after the fire started in a mountainous area and quickly spread, crossing a highway and moving toward homes, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said.

"If you're in Geyserville, leave now," the sheriff's office advised, citing an extraordinary threat to life and property.

Winds out of the north were driving the fire as firefighters struggled to save homes.

By early Thursday evening, the fire was 5 per cent contained and several structures had burned, fire officials said.

The blaze 120km north of San Francisco came amid official warnings that much of northern California and parts of the south were under imminent threat of fires because of blustery, dry weather and high temperatures.

Another brush fire in San Bernardino County, about 90km east of Los Angeles, also prompted evacuation orders as it quickly burned 30 hectares.

Power was cut to about 180,000 customers in the northern part of the state on Thursday and similar preemptive shutoffs affected thousands of customers further south due to conditions that are ripe for wildfires.

Power companies warned that additional power cuts could be ordered to reduce the risk of accidental fires.

The strong winds in the north were expected to subside on Friday but are forecast to pick up again on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

Many residents of Geyserville said they barely had time to gather their belongings as the monster fire quickly approached the town, with embers igniting fires throughout the region.

"We thought we were a couple of miles from the fire," Dwight Monson, 68, told the Los Angeles Times. "But guess what – the winds."

He said by the time his family got in their cars and escaped to the valley below, the flames were on the edge of their ranch.

PG&E, the state's biggest power company, said it had informed regulators that a jumper on a transmission tower near where officials said the fire had started was broken.

The company, which has been held responsible for numerous wildfires in the state, said that even though power to nearly 28,000 customers in Sonoma County, including Geyserville, had been shut down on Wednesday, some of the high-voltage transmission lines were still operating when the fire broke out.

"We relied on the protocol and we still, at this point, do not know what exactly happened," PG&E chief executive and president Bill Johnson told a news conference.

This week's fires have erupted as the state is still recovering from deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that killed more than 100 people.

The fires have been fuelled by years of drought and dry vegetation.

"This is an emotional time for many people," Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick told a news conference on Thursday. "It's only been two years since the fires that devastated our community. For many this will be a very stressful and anxious time."