Crews battle last stubborn Southern California wildfire

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crews fought a pitched battle against last remaining large wildfire in Sourn California as stubborn flames threatened nearly 2,000 homes and or buildings.

fire that erupted on a hilltop rast of Los Angeles heed for what would be its third day Saturday and firefighters were finding it hard work as shifting winds me front line a moving target.

Maria Fire h burned some 15 square miles (38 square kilometers) and prompted evacuation orders for nearly 11,000 people since it began Thursday evening.

Eastern Ventura, Camarillo, Somis and Santa Paula were at risk, Ventura County fire officials said.

On Friday, a tug of war developed between onshore and offshore winds.

“It has been an uphill battle ever since,” Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. “As winds shift, we have a whole new fuel bed open up.”

Winds and skin-cracking low humidity were expected to make Saturday ar difficult day for firefighters.

Crews battled to keep flames away from orchards and farms in rural area. Three buildings were destroyed.

cause was under investigation but re was a troubling possibility that an electrical line might have been involved — as such lines have been at or recent fires.

Sourn California Edison said Friday that it re-energized a 16,000-volt power line 13 minutes before fire erupted in same area.

Edison and or utilities up and down state shut off power to hundreds of thousands of people this week out of concerns that high winds could cause power lines to spark and start fires.

SCE will cooperate with investigators, utility said.

fire began during what h been expected to be tail end of a siege of Santa Ana winds that fanned fires that destroyed buildings and prompted mass evacuations across region.

fires even caught attention of teen climate-change activist Greta Thunberg, who was visiting Los Angeles for a rally.

“It has been horrifying to see what is going on here and what happens here often and that it’s gotten worse because of climate crisis,” she said.

Red flag wear warnings of extreme fire danger h been expected to expire Friday evening but forecasters extended m to 6 p.m. Saturday for valleys and interior mountains of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, citing wiring conditions.

In rrn California, more people were allowed to return to areas evacuated due to huge Kince Fire burning for days in Soma County wine country.

121-square-mile (313-square-kilometer) fire was 70% contained, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

tally of destroyed homes reached 174 and re were 35 more damd, Cal Fire said. Many or structures also burned.

Historic, dry winds prompted state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., to initiate four rounds of widespre pre-emptive shut-offs in rrn California this month to prevent wildfires.

But Contra Costa County Fire Protection District pegged utility’s equipment as cause of three smaller fires that cropped up Sunday in San Francisco Bay Area suburbs of Martinez and Lafayette.

And while cause of Kince Fire hasn’t been determined, PG&E reported a problem with a transmission tower near spot where fire started.

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AP staff writer Janie Har in San Francisco and John Rogers in Los Angeles contributed to this story.