Growing Wildfire Burns 10,000 Acres and Forces Evacuations Near Los Angeles

A fast-spreading wildfire northwest of Los Angeles has burned more than 10,000 acres and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people, according to local authorities, fueled by strong winds that are expected to last until Monday.

The blaze, named the Post Fire, started at 1:47 p.m. Saturday in Gorman, Calif., near Interstate 5 about 50 miles outside Los Angeles, the authorities said. Within 12 hours, it had spread to over 10,500 acres, according to CalFire, California’s firefighting agency. It was zero percent contained as of Saturday evening, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Two commercial properties had been damaged and another two are threatened, the authorities said.

The authorities evacuated 1,200 people from the Hungry Valley recreation area and closed the nearby Pyramid Lake reservoir, the fire department said on Saturday evening.

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.

The firefighters face challenging conditions, with winds of up to 10 to 15 miles per hour expected on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Slightly higher temperatures and lower humidity were expected to continue through the weekend, according to CalFire.

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.