Fast-spreading blaze threatens California homes

LOS ANGELES -- Walls of flames from a wind-driven wildfire crept toward hundreds of homes Thursday, forcing evacuations as firefighters grappled with hot, windy weather.

The fire doubled in size early in the day to at least 7,000 acres, consuming at least one home as it burned across 10 miles of ridges along the line dividing Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The stench of smoke enveloped the area.

Helicopters and tanker planes dropped water on the flames as more than 1,000 firefighters worked against the tricky combination of dry brush, low humidity, triple-digit temperatures and brisk winds.

"We are not going to stop this fire until we get a break in the weather," Los Angeles Fire Capt. Mark Savage said.

The wildfire was 5 percent contained. Firefighters did not know how it began.

Shelters were opened in Los Angeles and Ventura County, and many residents responded quickly to evacuation orders.

In Box Canyon, Jeff Johns, 48, said the deaths of Gulf Coast residents who stayed put during Hurricane Katrina figured in his decision to evacuate.

"I wasn't going to get stupid about it. There was only one way out, and it was getting real hot," Johns said.

About 45 evacuees gathered at Canoga Park High School in the San Fernando Valley, where the Red Cross had set up cots and provided meals.

"Our house is still OK, but, oh, God, it's not a good feeling," said Phil Goldenberg, 53, who was at the school's gym with his wife and son.

The blaze destroyed a home and a detached garage and was threatening numerous other canyon homes in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, officials said.

A building at a lab that designed rocket engines during the Cold War was also destroyed. Firefighters said they didn't know what might have been inside the structure.

One firefighter was struck on the head by a 40-pound boulder and was taken to a hospital, officials said.

Past wildfires fanned by Santa Ana winds have roared south to Malibu, the celebrity-packed community about 10 miles away, and firefighters feared a repeat with this blaze.

A blaze in Riverside County, meanwhile, spread over 1,160 acres between the cities of Redlands and Moreno Valley, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles. That fire destroyed three chicken coops at a ranch believed to house 70,000 to 90,000 chickens.

So far this year, wildfires have charred 8.16 million acres nationwide, compared with 7.74 million acres by the same time last year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.