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Southern California wildfires burn with little containment as conditions worsen

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Southern California wildfires burn with little containment as conditions worsen

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WATCH Billions of dollars in Bel Air homes in line of fire as a winds churn more flames

    Firefighters across Southern California are battling four major wildfires, and brutal Santa Ana winds are expected to continue fanning the flames into Thursday.

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    The weather is not cooperating with the hundreds of officials trying to contain the flames in the region. Red flag warnings have been extended across much of Southern California through Saturday, while high winds warnings are in effect for mountains and valleys in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

    Sustained winds were gusting to 66 mph at Boney Mountain in Ventura County, according to the National Weather Service. Winds could gust to 80 mph in the early hours of Thursday, causing embers to spread even more. Much of Southern California is also experiencing humidity levels in the teens or even single digits.

    Sustained winds in Southern California were expected to be from the mid-20s up to the 40-mph range, with gusts of 60 mph or more Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.ABC News
    Sustained winds in Southern California were expected to be from the mid-20s up to the 40-mph range, with gusts of 60 mph or more Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017.

    Striking images show California wildfires from space Fire-stricken Southern California braces for more strong winds Wildfires threaten several thousand homes in Southern California

    More than 5,000 firefighters are dealing with the four large wildfires, as well as a smaller one in San Bernardino, which is entirely contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

    The Thomas fire, which was the first to ignite, has already burned about 96,000 acres of land and is expected to intensify due to the increasing winds. The Skirball fire is the smallest of the wildfires currently, but its threat to heavily populated areas of Los Angeles has drawn widespread attention. The Creek fire and Rye fire also continued to burn Thursday with little containment.

    All Los Angeles Unified School District schools in the San Fernando Valley, as well as 17 schools on Los Angeles' west side, were shuttered through Friday. At least 265 schools have been closed. The University of California, Los Angeles, also canceled classes Thursday due to the Skirball fire.

    Thomas fire

    The Thomas fire in Ventura County, the largest of the four blazes, started Monday night as a 50-acre brush fire in foothills east of Santa Paula and rapidly grew to 10,000 acres in just four hours, authorities said.

    PHOTO: The Thomas Fire burns in the mountains, Dec. 6, 2017, near Ojai, Calif.Mario Tama/Getty Images
    The Thomas Fire burns in the mountains, Dec. 6, 2017, near Ojai, Calif.

    It had swelled to over 108,000 acres by midnight local time on Thursday, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, which is comprised of nine government agencies, among them the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service and United States Fire Administration.

    The fire was just 5 percent contained as of Thursday morning.

    More than 88,0000 residents have been evacuated and 15,000 homes are threatened by the flames, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Authorities on Thursday morning upgraded voluntary evacuation orders to mandatory for parts of Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County. Officials expected the fire to cross the county line into Santa Barbara overnight as winds continued to strengthen.

    Flames from the Thomas fire burn above a truck on Highway 101 north of Ventura, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017.AP
    Flames from the Thomas fire burn above a truck on Highway 101 north of Ventura, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017.

    Officials were concerned about part of the Thomas fire heading northeast and threatening a nursing home in Ojai. The 25 residents and staff were evacuated as a precaution, authorities said.

    Creek fire

    The Creek fire, in the Kagel Canyon area above Los Angeles' Sylmar neighborhood, has scorched 12,605 acres of land and destroyed more than 30 buildings. Over 99,000 residents have been evacuated, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

    The blaze was 10 percent contained as of Thursday morning and 1,100 personnel are currently fighting the blaze.

    A mansion that survived a wildfire sits on a hilltop in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. AP
    A mansion that survived a wildfire sits on a hilltop in the Bel Air district of Los Angeles Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017.

    While no people have died in any of the fires, the Creek fire was responsible for the death of almost 40 horses at Rancho Padilla, according to ABC station KABC in Los Angeles. The horses were trapped in a barn that burned to the ground as the owners were evacuated with no warning.

    Skirball fire

    The Skirball fire has only burned 475 acres of land so far, but its proximity to Los Angeles and responsibility for briefly shutting down the infamously crowded 405 Freeway has garnered nationwide attention.

    The fire is threatening the Getty Center, a museum in western Los Angeles. Officials were focused on keeping the flames from jumping the freeway and heading east. The blaze was 5 percent contained as of Thursday morning, and firefighters had managed to keep it from breaching containment lines.

    A water dropping helicopter flies over a hot spot on the Creek Fire in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017.AP
    A water dropping helicopter flies over a hot spot on the Creek Fire in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017.

    Authorities said six structures had been lost in the blaze .

    Los Angeles County declared a state of emergency Wednesday afternoon due to the Skirball fire in the city's Bel-Air neighborhood.

    Video taken from helicopter flying over Los Angeles captures the #SkirballFire, which has destroyed at least 4 homes near the Getty Center and the 405 Freeway. https://t.co/W34BbI2Cts pic.twitter.com/fYBf0JgvxM

    — ABC News (@ABC) December 6, 2017

    Rye fire

    The Rye fire has scorched 7,000 acres in Santa Clarita, west of Valencia. The blaze was 15 percent contained as of Thursday morning, the highest of any of the four fires, though 5,420 homes were still being threatened by flames, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

    About 2,000 residents have been evacuated, though mandatory evacuation orders in the area have been lifted.

    Some 775 firefighters were on the scene battling the Rye fire Wednesday afternoon.

    PHOTO:
    SLIDESHOW: Photos: Fast-moving wildfires raging in Southern California

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    ABC News' Matthew Fuhrman, Michael Kreisel and Jonah Lustig contributed to this report.


    Source – abcnews.go.com

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