Fire breaks out in Malibu; Houses evacuated

Dozens of homes burned in Southern California and thousands of residents were forced to flee as a fast-spreading wildfire broke out in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles.

The National Weather Service issued a rare “Particularly Hazardous Situation” alert due to windy and dry conditions that allowed several wildfires to spread quickly. Here's the latest information on two notable fires in the region:

Mountain fire explodes in massive size

At least 16 square miles burned shortly after this fire broke out in Ventura County on Wednesday morning, expanding from a much smaller blaze within hours. It was dubbed the “Mountain Fire” and sparked a large response from firefighters, who called in multiple helicopters to drop water on the fire near the Camarillo Heights area.

“​This is as intense as it gets. I’m sure the hairs on the firefighters’ necks stood up,” Ventura County Fire Chief Trevor Johnson told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

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Because of the fierce wind gusts of over 50 miles per hour, aircraft could not help. Injuries were reported and more than 10,000 residents had to be evacuated as the fire grew.

Numerous houses were destroyed by the fire. Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Wednesday that up to 3,500 suburban buildings were at risk.

Widespread fire burns near Malibu

Down the coast, another fire was burning near Malibu, but it was much smaller and firefighters appeared to have it under control.

The blaze, dubbed the Broad Fire, forced some in Malibu to evacuate their homes and others were ordered to shelter in place. It burned 50 acres near Malibu Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway on Wednesday morning.

According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, two buildings were on fire.

Nearby Pepperdine University said in a social media post that the campus was not threatened and classes would continue Wednesday morning.

Electric utility Southern California Edison preemptively shut off power to more than 65,000 customers on Wednesday, including more than 20,000 in Northern California. Due to the risk, power cuts for more than 200,000 customers are being considered, the company said on its website.

More than 30,000 customers were without power statewide early Thursday, including about 3,000 in Ventura County and about 4,000 in Los Angeles County, according to poweroutage.us.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.