Wildfire threatens homes in rural area of Calif.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- A wind-whipped wildfire burning out of control in central California mountains destroyed buildings and threatened many rural homes Thursday morning, closing schools and forcing hundreds of evacuations.
The blaze in the Santa Cruz Mountains, reported around 5:30 a.m., had grown to about 3½ square miles by midday and was completely uncontained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
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About 320 homes were under mandatory evacuation orders, according to Santa Cruz County spokeswoman Dinah Phillips. Santa Clara and Santa Cruz county officials said more than 60 residents had been evacuated, as well as 200 students from a summer camp in the mountains.
The fire is in the mountain range that separates the two counties, and the rural area about 15 miles south of San Jose is dotted with homes.
As many as 10 structures were destroyed and at least three schools in the area closed their doors Thursday because of the fire. No injuries have been reported.
Heavy brush and timber and wind gusting up to 40 mph were complicating firefighting efforts, officials said.
"The fuels are very heavy and dry from a pretty mild winter. With that wind added in as a factor, it's a pretty good recipe for fire," Battalion Chief Mike Marcucci said.
A separate round of evacuations was ordered in Southern California, where torrential downpours Thursday triggered mudslides in three Orange County canyons scarred by last fall's wildfires.
Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion said some residents in Williams Canyon were unable to leave their homes because of mud and debris flows. Some houses have been damaged.
Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Mike Blawn said evacuations were under way in Williams, Modjeska and Trabuco canyons; he didn't know how many people were covered by the order.
The area of the mudslides was charred last fall by a wildfire that burned 15 homes and about 44 square miles.
In Florida, a wildfire forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in the Deerhaven area north of Orlando. The blaze started Wednesday and has scorched more than 1,000 acres. It was 20 percent contained Thursday. The cause is not yet known.