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70,000 in Southern California to evacuate after blaze grows

60,000 in Southern California to evacuate after blaze grows
60,000 in Southern California to evacuate after blaze grows
Posted at 2:15 PM, Oct 26, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-26 19:33:33-04

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire has forced evacuations for 70,000 people in Southern California and seriously injured two firefighters.

On Monday afternoon, the Orange County Fire Association said that two OCFA hand crew members, aged 26 and 31, were injured and suffered second and third-degree burns.

The OCFA also tweeted a video of the flames from the inferno jumping Highway 241.

Powerful winds across the state have prompted power to be cut to hundreds of thousands to prevent utility equipment from sparking new blazes.

The smoky fire in Orange County broke out just before 7 a.m. Monday and quickly threatened neighborhoods in Irvine, a sprawling city of about 280,000 people.

According to the Associated Press, about 1 million people were without power on Monday because of the strong winds.

California is extremely dry and fire danger is high as the state experiences winds that are gusting above 60 mph in places.

The Los Angeles Times reported that gusts of winds in Los Angeles and Ventura counties' mountains would reach 60 to 80 mph, and 50-mph blasts in Malibu and Hollywood Hills.

Such winds can knock down power lines and send tree branches into wires, sparking fires

It's not clear what started the Orange County fire.