Powerful winds drove a rapidly spreading wildfire through Southern California on Friday, destroying at least six homes.
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A wind-fueled wildfire tore through Southern California on Friday, torching at least six homes, threatening high-value properties near the coast and forcing thousands of people to flee.
Thick black smoke rose for miles above tennis courts and swimming pools as firefighters battled flames engulfing homes in San Juan Capistrano, in Orange County. Before evacuating, some residents used garden hoses to spray down their properties.
Two firefighters were hospitalized with heat-related injuries, officials said. Investigators had not determined what caused the blaze, which covered less than a square mile by Friday evening.
“Had these winds been a little bit stronger, a little bit different direction, this could have been a whole lot worse,” San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler said.
Howard Hart, a San Juan Capistrano councilmember, said he and his wife soaked their roof with water and relocated propane tanks before leaving with a go-bag under evacuation orders Friday.
Laura Hart said it was the first time in more than 50 years of living in the community that she had been forced to evacuate because of a wildfire.
“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 began in the coastal city of San Clemente before strong winds pushed it toward San Juan Capistrano. Evacuation shelters opened in both communities. By Friday night, roughly 16,000 people had been ordered to leave, Orange County Fire Authority Chief TJ McGovern said.
The fire was among several burning as dry, hot Santa Ana winds swept across the region from inland areas toward the coast. The most intense gusts were forecast through Friday afternoon, while dangerous fire conditions were expected to continue until Saturday night. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the Orange and San Diego County coasts through 8 p.m. Saturday.
Power shutoffs left tens of thousands of Californians without electricity. Meanwhile, another fire near Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton forced the temporary closure of part of Interstate 5, a key route between Orange County and San Diego, causing commutes across Southern California to stretch for hours.
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Hillsides surround both coastal communities. San Juan Capistrano, home to about 35,000 people, is known for its horse trails and historic mission. San Clemente, which has roughly 62,000 residents, markets itself as a “Spanish village by the sea” and draws beachgoers and surfers.
“The fire is right up on the city,” San Clemente Councilmember Victor Cabral said. “It’s on the perimeter of our homes on the north end.”
Nine schools in San Juan Capistrano were closed Friday, according to the Capistrano Unified School District.
Residents in nearby communities watched anxiously as smoke turned the sky dark.
Shannon Needham, who lives in Wyoming, was visiting her mother at an assisted-living facility in Dana Point, just north of San Clemente, when she heard about the fire.
The facility’s director told her that two buses would be ready in case residents had to be evacuated, 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.
Power equipment has been blamed for some of California’s most destructive wildfires, prompting utilities in recent years to shut off electricity preemptively when dry, powerful winds create extreme fire danger. More than 200,000 California customers were without power Friday, according to poweroutage.com.
The National Weather Service also issued a red flag warning for parts of Central and Northern California through Friday morning, cautioning that any new fires could spread quickly.
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding contributed from Los Angeles.
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