California's Norte wildfire grows to 570 acres with ZERO containment after destroying at least six coastal homes
Around 16,000 residents in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano were ordered to evacuate as Santa Ana winds pushed the flames inland, Orange County Fire Authority chief TJ McGovern said. The fire broke out at 11:30am on Friday and exploded from 10 acres to 250 within roughly an hour. Two firefighters suffered heat-related injuries and were hospitalised. The cause remains under investigation.
Mountain bikers on San Juan Capistrano's Las Ramblas trail rode straight into a towering fireball.
San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler warned that stronger winds 'could have been a whole lot worse'.
Governor Gavin Newsom's office said around 13,000 people were threatened as crews fought the blaze overnight.
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