SANTA PAULA, Calif. (AP) — Four wildfires in Southern California have burned some 200 homes and other buildings and prompted evacuation orders for at least 150,000 people.


The fire erupted Tuesday afternoon in San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles. Gusty Santa Ana winds have pushed it through the area.

Fire officials say some garages have been damaged but no houses have burned and hundreds of homes and businesses have been saved.

Authorities have not determined what sparked the fire but they say two people were found badly burned near the point of its origin near a McDonald’s restaurant.

A fire official said he suspects hundreds more homes have been destroyed by a Southern California wildfire.

Incident Commander Todd Derum told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that those homes would add to the toll of 150 already destroyed by the fire in Ventura County.

Firefighters have been unable to reach some of the severely burned areas to confirm lost homes. But Derum says a bigger tally will likely come on Wednesday.

Derum says some 3,000 homes are threatened.

Production of TV shows including HBO’s “Westworld” has been halted amid Southern California’s wildfires.

HBO said in a statement that the sci-fi drama was filming its second season in an area near two Los Angeles County fires on Tuesday but producers decided to shut down and avoid any danger to actors or crew members.

The statement says “Westworld” will resume filming when it is safe.

Filming on the CBS show “S.W.A.T.” was also suspended.

Many shows shoot outdoor scenes in the outskirts north of the city, where two large blazes have choked the air with smoke and are threatening thousands of homes and buildings.

The Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, who hold workouts near the largest of Southern California’s fires, canceled Wednesday’s practice.

The National Weather Service says the wild winds and dry conditions that have allowed the fires to grow are expected to remain until Thursday and could spill into Friday.


One of the blazes broke out Monday in Ventura County and grew wildly to more than 70 square miles in a matter of hours, county Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. It was fanned by winds clocked at well over 60 mph that grounded firefighting helicopters and planes.

The Ventura County fire prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.




ALSO READ: Bay Area Firefighting Strike Teams Sent To Massive Ventura Wildfire










Thomas Aquinas College, with about 350 students, was evacuated.





The flames were driven by Southern California’s dry and gusty Santa Ana winds, which have contributed to some of the region’s most disastrous wildfires. They blow westward, from inland areas toward the coast, speeding up as they squeeze through mountain passes and canyons.

