Hundreds of homes destroyed as LA continues to battle wildfires

Fires burned in Los Angeles County, to the east in Riverside and Orange counties, and to the northwest in Santa Barbara County, blackening a total of 26 square miles (67 square kilometers) and burning more than 800 mobile homes, houses and apartments since Thursday night.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared states of emergency in all three counties and officials have declared this to be one of the worst fires to ravage the city in nearly half a century.

The fire, which erupted late Friday in the densely populated district of Sylmar, came as firefighters continued to battle a blaze in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the north.

Fires also broke out in the cities of Yorba Linda and Corona, southeast of Los Angeles, reportedly destroying at least 20 homes and forcing the closure of several important transport routes.

More than 20,000 people were ordered to evacuate the Orange County burn area, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The Los Angeles fire -- fueled by seasonal winds of up to 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour -- erupted late Friday and has scorched some 7,900 acres (3,200 hectares). Forecasts indicated the winds would abate by Sunday afternoon, but humidity levels would remain very low.

Ground zero of the firestorm was a mobile home park near Sylmar where more than 500 residences were reduced to a smoldering wasteland.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, blaming the spread of the fire on "absolutely atrocious" winds, said the blaze was one of the worst in the city’s history.

"We have never lost in recent times anything close to this number (of homes)," Villaraigosa said.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the fire, which was 20 percent contained by 8:00 pm Saturday (0400 GMT Sunday), was the worst since a 1961 blaze in wealthy Bel Air that destroyed more than 480 homes.

"This is as bad a fire as I can remember since the 1961 fire," Yaroslavsky said. "The explosiveness of it, and the human devastation that is involved ...

"Five hundred families lost their home last night and this morning. And our hearts go out to them. We just can’t weigh their loss heavily enough."

Los Angeles Police Department chief William Bratton described the devastation as "absolutely incredible."

Around 2,000 firefighters, using helicopters, bulldozers and engines, were battling the fire, attempting to halt its advance as a state of emergency was declared across Los Angeles County.

At least 11 injuries were reported Saturday, including four firefighters in Riverside County who were briefly overtaken by flames, and five firefighters were injured in Sylmar, according to The Times.

The Sylmar fire was one of several burning across Southern California on Saturday, and authorities were tracking a large fire near Yorba Linda, 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, and neighboring Corona.

Vast plumes of smoke from the Yorba Linda blaze could be seen across the Los Angeles skyline and around 60 residences had been damaged or destroyed. The fire has consumed more than 1,900 acres (800 hectares).

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters were making progress against the fire which tore through the millionaire’s playground of Montecito after erupting on Thursday. Some 111 homes had been gutted by the fire, which has burned around 1,800 acres (728 hectares) and was 40-percent contained.

California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires due to its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing booms which have seen housing spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas.

Only just over a year ago California suffered devastation from wildfires among the worst in its history that left eight people dead, gutted 2,000 homes, displaced 640,000 people and caused one billion dollars in damage.

In June and July this year, a series of about 2,000 fires raged across the state, scorching some 900,000 acres (364,217 hectares) of land.

Photo: AFP