A fast-moving wildfire has burned more than 10,000 acres northwest of Los Angeles, forcing the evacuation of about 1,200 people from popular camping and recreation areas.
The blaze, named the Post Fire, served as a potent warning to Southern California residents that a rainy winter does not guarantee a quiet fire season.
It was 0 percent contained as of Sunday morning, with authorities saying that hot, dry conditions combined with winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour were challenging firefighting efforts.
The fire started on Saturday afternoon near Interstate 5 in an area Californians know as the Grapevine — a winding, mountainous stretch of the enormous freeway that carries cars and big rigs between the Central Valley and the Los Angeles area. Within 12 hours, the blaze had spread to over 10,500 acres, according to CalFire, California’s firefighting agency.
Two buildings, a kiosk and a recreational facility, were damaged, but no homes had been burned, the authorities said.
The authorities evacuated about 1,200 people from the Hungry Valley recreation area and closed the nearby Pyramid Lake reservoir, the fire department said.
Firefighters were working to draw containment lines and were using aircraft to stop the fire’s spread, but they had limited visibility, the department said on Saturday evening.
Parts of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah and western New Mexico are also facing a heightened fire risk on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
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