Multiple wildfires ignited across California on Thursday as the state braced for more strong winds and high temperatures that could fuel rapid fire growth over the next several days.
The largest blaze, dubbed the Henderson fire, erupted in Camp Pendleton, a San Diego Marine Corps training base, and quickly consumed more than 1,000 acres (400 hectares). Evacuations have been issued and officials briefly closed part of the Interstate 5, a major highway in the region.
Videos of the incident shared by the California department of forestry and fire protection showed a wall of flames and thick, black smoke that thrashed in the strong winds alongside the highway.
Along with the Henderson fire, which was 0% contained by 6pm on Thursday, evacuation warnings were issued for two brushfires in the Los Angeles area: one in Azusa, a city near the San Gabriel mountains north-east of Los Angeles, and another in Malibu.
The blazes broke out during a high wind event that has increased fire risks across southern California. The so-called Santa Ana winds will linger through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, and the potential for extreme fire behavior and rapid spread could still rise.
“A moderate to strong Santa Ana wind will bring widespread strong winds and critical fire weather conditions to much of south-west California,” the National Weather Service said in a forecast issued on Thursday.
Strong, dry winds could reach 20-40mph (32- 64-km/h), with gusts of 50-70mph in the San Gabriel mountains in Los Angeles county and the Santa Susana mountains, which are mostly in Ventura county, officials said. Critical fire weather conditions are also forecast for portions of the Santa Lucia mountains in San Luis Obispo county.
The elevated risks come amid a tumultuous start to autumn that has already brought severe heatwaves, high surf and flooding – and this may just be the beginning, according to experts.
Destructive conditions fueled by a potentially historic El Niño brewing in the Pacific will continue to mount through the end of this year and into next. The impacts, which have already raised sea levels, increased temperatures and supercharged storms in the Pacific, layer on top of natural hazards and those fueled by the human-caused climate crisis.
The Santa Ana winds in this week’s forecast are expected during this time of year, along with higher fire dangers that typically linger in the state through November. But on the heels of the recent storm surge that battered the California coast, the weather whiplash has left residents reeling.
With the threat of fire, heat and sea level rise colliding, as the state readies for more incoming effects from El Niño, Kevin McGowan, the director of LA’s office of emergency management, urged residents to be ready. “People should continue to prepare not just for one hazard,” he said during a recent briefing, “but all hazards.”
In Los Angeles, where strong Santa Ana winds fueled the devastating 2025 firestorm that killed more than 30 people, the warnings were sharply felt.
While this event is nowhere near the magnitude of the one that tore through communities across the county in 2025, neighborhoods are still being rebuilt after multiple blazes consumed more than 16,000 structures. Huge burn scars left behind have increased the dangers for debris flows and landslides, should the elevated chances of severe storms materialize over this winter.
Officials are preparing to meet the fire risks head on to protect communities now and in months that follow. New fires will mean more risks in the season ahead.
“If there is any significant fire activity this week, it would be somewhat poorly timed in the context of El Niño,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain in an online briefing on Wednesday. “We know the likelihood of a wet winter in southern California is now very high. [Fire] would further raise the stakes.”
The Peak fire in Azusa ignited around 1pm and grew to 43 acres in just two hours. Firefighters have mostly wrangled the blaze, enabling local mandatory evacuations to be downgraded to warnings.
The Bryson fire in Malibu was roughly 80 acres by 6pm and embers were being carried by the windsfueling the blaze’s spread, LA fire officials told the Los Angeles Times.
Thousands of people in California were also without electricity on Thursday as utilities tried to reduce the risk of hot, windy weather that could blow over power lines and spark wildfires.
In northern California, nearly 62,000 customers in 26 counties had no electricity, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The company began proactively turning off power on Wednesday night. Weather conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday.
Los Angeles fire chief, Jaime Moore, said staffing had been augmented and equipment pre-deployed so crews will be ready.
“We are asking residents to do their part too,” he added. “Clear the streets, have a plan and stay informed.”
With the risks rising across California, the state’s office of emergency services has also increased its coordination and readied resources to support local officials should disaster strike, according to spokesperson Chris Dargan.
The National Weather Service issued fire weather warnings for parts of central and northern California, starting on Thursday and lasting through Friday morning, saying any fires would spread rapidly.
“It’s a pretty widespread event of elevated fire weather, so the whole SoCal region should really be on alert,” said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The Associated Press contributed in reporting
Source: www.theguardian.com
