MOORPARK, Calif. — An out-of-control wildfire fueled by high winds ripped through a northwest Los Angeles community for the second time on Thursday, exploding in just a few hours after destroying dozens of homes and forcing thousands of residents to flee.

Mountain Fire triggers evacuation order It threatens more than 10,000 people as it threatens 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, farms and agricultural fields around Camarillo in Ventura County, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. There were zero restrictions Thursday morning.

The National Weather Service said: red flag warningConditions indicating high fire danger will remain in effect until 6 p.m., forecasters said. He said winds were expected to die down significantly by Thursday night, but humidity levels would remain critically low.

Officials in several Southern California counties urged residents to remain alert for rapidly spreading fires, power outages and downed trees during the latest round of Santa Ana winds.

The Mountain Fire was burning in an area that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires in years. A thick cloud of smoke rose hundreds of meters into the sky on Wednesday, covering entire neighborhoods and restricting visibility for firefighters and evacuees. Aerial TV footage showed flames burning homes as embers flew across residential blocks.

The fire quickly grew from half a square mile to more than 16 square miles in just under five hours. By Thursday morning, an area of ​​just over 22 square miles (57 square kilometers) had been mapped. Firefighting efforts continued throughout the night by land and helicopters.

The department said at least 800 firefighters were assigned to the fire and hundreds of firefighters came from across the state. Damage estimates were expected to begin Thursday, but the Ventura County Fire Department said multiple structures were affected.

Camarillo man’s home of nearly 40 years destroyed in Mountain Fire

First responders called for citizens to evacuate. As embers spread for miles and new flames ignited, lawmakers contacted 14,000 people and urged them to leave.

The Ventura County Department of Education announced that more than a dozen school districts and campuses in the county were closed Thursday, with several more expected to close Friday.

Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson said that crews rushed towards houses in danger of fire with their engines to save lives.

“This is as intense as it gets. I’m sure the hair on the firefighters’ neck stood up,” he said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, to the south, Los Angeles Fire Department crews responded to an incident. Wildfire in Malibu on Wednesday Authorities briefly closed the Pacific Coast Highway as flames burned near multimillion-dollar properties. Two structures burned in the 50-acre (20-hectare) Broad Fire, officials said.

Santa Anas are dry, warm, gusty northeasterly winds that blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore, moving in the opposite direction of the normal overland flow that carries moist air from the Pacific to the region. They usually appear in the autumn months and continue throughout the winter and into early spring.

With wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour and humidity levels as low as 9 percent, parts of Southern California could experience conditions that could lead to “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior through Thursday, before weather conditions calm down, the weather service said. A wind gust of 72 mph was recorded early Thursday near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, at an altitude of about 4,800 feet, the service said.

Forecasters also issued red flag warnings through Thursday from California’s central coast to the San Francisco Bay Area and counties to the north where strong winds are expected.

Utilities in California have begun shutting down power to equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger following a series of large and deadly wildfires sparked by power lines and other infrastructure in recent years.

Southern California Edison said Thursday that nearly 70,000 customers were without power in five counties due to increased wildfire risk. More than 250,000 customers are at risk of power outages due to bushfire concerns, the company said.

Wednesday’s wildfires burned in the same areas as other recent devastating inferno fires, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles, which killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes, and the 2017 Thomas Fire, which burned more than a thousand homes and other structures in Ventura and New York . Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both fires.