California wildfire forces thousands to evacuate as blaze destroys coastal homes

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate on Friday as a fast-moving wildfire, driven by strong winds, destroyed at least six high-value coastal properties in Southern California. Thick black smoke, visible from miles away, rose above tennis courts and swimming pools while crews tackled burning houses in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County. Several residents sprayed their buildings with water before obeying evacuation orders. Two firefighters were taken to hospital with heat-related injuries, according to officials. Authorities have not yet disclosed what started the blaze, which remained under a square mile in size by Friday evening. "Had these winds been a little bit stronger, a little bit different direction, this could have been a whole lot worse," said San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler. Howard Hart, a councilmember for San Juan Capistrano, said he and his wife soaked their roof and relocated propane canisters away from their property before leaving on Friday with a packed bag. Laura Hart said she has not had to leave her home because of a wildfire in more than 50 years of living in the area. open image in gallery A traffic sign alerts motorists about the Norte Fire, seen in the background on the Interstate 5 freeway in San Juan Capistrano, California ( AFP/Getty ) "This doesn’t usually happen to us, we usually see it on the news," she said. "We always pray to God it’s not us, but yeah, it was today." The Norte fire started in the coastal city of San Clemente, and wind drove it into San Juan Capistrano. An evacuation shelter has opened in each city. By Friday night, about 16,000 residents had been ordered to evacuate, said Fire Chief TJ McGovern, of the Orange County Fire Authority. It was one of several fires in the region hit by dry, warm gusts known as Santa Anas, which blow from the interior and toward the coast. The strongest winds were expected through Friday afternoon, but conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday night, with a heat advisory in effect until 8pm on Saturday on the Orange County and San Diego County coast, the National Weather Service said. Tens of thousands of people in the state are without power after their electricity was turned off. A separate fire by the Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton shut down for hours a section of Interstate 5 that is a major artery connecting Orange County to San Diego. That added hours to commutes throughout Southern California. open image in gallery Firefighters battle the Norte Fire in San Juan Capistrano, California ( AFP/Getty ) The coastal cities are surrounded by hillsides. San Juan Capistrano, a city of 35,000, is known for horse trails and the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. San Clemente, which is home to 62,000 people, is known as a “Spanish village by the sea” and popular with beachgoers and surfers. “The fire is right up on the city,” said Victor Cabral, a San Clemente Council member. “It’s on the perimeter of our homes on the north end.” Nine schools were also closed Friday in San Juan Capistrano, the Capistrano Unified School District said. Nearby residents were also on edge as smoke darkened the sky. Wyoming resident Shannon Needham was visiting her mother at her assisted living facility in Dana Point just north of San Clemente when she learned about the fire. open image in gallery The Norte Fire has burned nearly 500 acres and destroyed multiple structures in a matter of hours, as high winds have aggressively pushed it into neighborhoods ( Getty ) The facility director told her that two buses would be on standby in case they needed to evacuate, Needham said. “You could hear the fire trucks, you could hear the helicopters and everything above. And it was so smoky, it was just dark smoke," Needham said. Some of California’s worst wildfires have been sparked by power equipment, and utilities in recent years have begun proactively shutting off power in dry winds. More than 118,000 customers in California were without electricity as of Friday, according to poweroutage.com. The weather service also issued a red flag warning for parts of central and Northern California through Friday morning, saying any fires would spread rapidly.