Los Angeles-area wildfire forces 1,000 people to evacuate their homes

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

published 25 June 2015

A wildfire near Santa Clarita, California caused 1,000 people to evacuate their Los Angeles-area homes on Wednesday evening. The fire sparked around 1 p.m. on Wednesday and spread quickly due to strong winds, tearing through 350 acres in just a few hours, Newsweek reports. As many as 500 nearby homes were affected by the billowing smoke, and a small number of homes were at risk of catching fire.

More than 450 firefighters were on the scene, and they were able to make some progress in combating the wildfire as of Thursday morning. This wildfire is likely yet another consequence of California's drought, which has been contributing to some of the state's worst fire conditions in the last four years.