Two major wildfires were burning in southern California on Monday evening, prompting evacuation orders for tens of thousands of residents as strong winds threatened to fuel the flames further, authorities said.
A wildfire north-west of Los Angeles near the city of Simi Valley had spread across around 5.5 square kilometres, according to firefighters. Another blaze on Santa Rosa Island off the California coast had grown to about 59 square kilometres, state fire agency Cal Fire said.
Evacuation orders and warnings were in place for several districts. In Ventura County alone, around 29,000 people were affected.
The National Weather Service forecast so-called Santa Ana winds for the region, conditions known for rapidly spreading wildfires.
The fires revived memories of two devastating blazes at the start of last year — the Palisades Fire on the western edge of Los Angeles and the Eaton Fire near Pasadena and Altadena — which destroyed more than 16,000 buildings and killed 31 people.
Strong winds at the time helped the fires spread quickly, with firefighters battling the blazes for weeks before bringing them under control.
