California fire forces 70,000 to evacuate

A fast-moving wildfire forced the evacuation of 70,000 people and seriously injured two firefighters in Southern California on Monday as powerful winds across the fire-fatigued state prompted power to be cut to prevent utility equipment from sparking new blazes.

The wind-driven fire spread to more than 16 square kilometers within a few hours of breaking out around dawn in Orange County, south of Los Angeles.

Strong gusts pushed flames in Silverado Canyon and near houses in Irvine, a city of about 280,000 residents 65 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles.

Two firefighters, aged 26 and 31, were severely burned as they battled the blaze from the ground, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said.

Water-dropping helicopters were briefly grounded because the winds made it unsafe to fly.

Officials did not immediately know the cause of the fire, one of several that broke out across the region.

About 355,000 power customers－covering an estimated 1 million people－were in the dark in the northern part of the state as officials issued warnings for what could be the strongest winds in California this year.

Tinder-dry weather

The electricity shutdowns marked the fifth time this year that Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation's largest utility, cut power to customers to reduce the risk of downed or fouled power lines or other equipment that could ignite fires amid tinder-dry weather conditions and powerful wind gusts.

The conditions could equal those during devastating fires in California's wine region in 2017 and the Kincade Fire that devastated Sonoma County north of San Francisco last October, the National Weather Service said.

Fire officials said PG&E transmission lines sparked that fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes and caused nearly 100,000 people to flee for their lives.

Extreme fire danger moved into Southern California late on Sunday following cooler temperatures over the weekend. A area north of Los Angeles recorded a wind gust of 156 kilometers per hour.

"We have very strong winds and very low humidities, and that's causing ideal conditions for a very strong Santa Ana event with high fire danger," David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, told the Los Angeles Times.

Sheriff Kory Honea of Northern California's Butte County, where a 2018 blaze decimated the town of Paradise and killed 84 people, said he's concerned about residents in foothill communities during the blackouts because cellular service can be spotty and it's the only way many stay informed.

"It is quite a strain on them to have to go through these over and over and over again," he said.

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles had not received any requests for help from Chinese citizens from the affected area, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Maggie Chen, a resident of Irvine, said she received an immediate mandatory evacuation order from the Irvine Police Department at 9:01 am local time.

"The air quality has been poor since 7 o'clock this morning. It's hard to breathe," Chen said after evacuating to a hotel in nearby Newport Beach.

University of California, Irvine, said it was suspending campus operations for the day because smoke and ash were making the air hazardous.

Agencies contributed to this story.