A wildfire in the forest, east of Los Angeles, has prompted the mandatory evacuation of an entire town in Southern California — one of several blazes threatening homes as the region swelters under a heat wave.
Fire officials say evacuations were ordered Friday afternoon for the community of Forest Falls because of a quick-moving fire in the San Bernardino National Forest.
The community, 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, has more than 700 homes and about 1,000 residents.
Elsewhere in California, a massive blaze northwest of Sacramento had destroyed nine homes, officials said. Firefighters had begun inspecting the fire zone, which covers an area nearly three times the size of San Francisco.
The fire, spanning 140 square miles (360 square kilometers), was partially contained, but crews struggled in steep, rugged terrain. With the weather getting hotter and drier, and officials said the fire could grow.
