Look: California wildfires prompt evacuations amid heat wave

On Wednesday, California wildfires erupted in rural areas, racing through bone-dry brush and prompting evacuations, as the state sweltered under a heat wave that could last through Labor Day.

The Route Fire in Castaic, situated in northwestern Los Angeles County, raged through about 4,625 acres of hills containing scattered houses. Interstate 5, a major north-south route, was closed by a blaze that burned several hundred acres in only a few hours.

Media reports showed a wall of flames advancing uphill, and smoke billowing thousands of feet into the air, while planes dumped water from nearby Castaic Lake.

A mobile home park with 94 residences was evacuated, and seven firefighters were treated for heat-related problems, authorities said.

The fire was moving erratically, and more resources were called in, including air tankers, the LA County Fire Department tweeted. An elementary school was also evacuated. Temperatures in the area hit 42°C and winds gusted to 27km/h, forecasters said.

Another fire burned at least four buildings, including a home, and prompted evacuations in the Dulzura area in eastern San Diego County, near the Mexican border. It swiftly grew to more than 1,400 acres, and prompted evacuation orders for at least 400 homes, authorities said.

State Route 94 was closed.

No injuries were immediately reported, but there were “multiple close calls”, as residents rushed to flee, said Captain Thomas Shoots with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

“We had multiple 911 calls from folks unable to evacuate”, because their homes were surrounded by the fire, Shoots told the San Diego Union-Tribune.