A statue stands in front of a home destroyed at the Oakridge Mobile Home Park in the northern San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. (Reed Saxon/Associated Press)Major brushfires were burning in three Southern California counties Sunday, in one of state's worst fire emergencies ever.
One fire was burning dangerously close to a mobile home park in the Olinda Village area north of Yorba Linda in Orange County.
Flames severely damaged the main building at Brea Canyon High School on Saturday, officials said.
The most devastating fire in Los Angeles County in nearly 50 years tore through an upscale mobile home park in Sylmar and reduced 500 trailers to ash.
"I spent almost $45,000 in remodel jobs, complete new kitchen, complete new bathroom, complete new roof. Did a lotta good, huh?" said one woman at the Oakridge Mobile Home Park.
Fire officials estimated that at the peak of the Sylmar fire, 10,000 people were ordered to leave. Many returned home later in the day after many of the evacuation orders were lifted.
Elsewhere, in Santa Barbara County, 200 homes have been destroyed since Friday. However, firefighters say the winds have changed direction and the fire is moving away from residential areas.
Smoke hung over the city of Los Angeles from fires to the north and to the south. Parts of the city were briefly without power Saturday as the flames shut down power lines.
To the south in Orange County, the winds played hopscotch with fire embers, bypassing some homes, ruining others.
"It was already on this ridge when we got here," said fire captain Greg Lewis. "So we just go from house to house and do what we can. And you can see it's every third house, every fifth house, every sixth house. That type of thing."
Together, the wildfires have burned close to 75 square kilometres of land.
California wildfire threatens 2nd mobile home parkCBC.ca
