Climate Adaptation
Fast-Moving California Fires Threaten Million-Dollar Homes
- Blazes near Irvine have forced almost 100,000 to evacuate
- Edison says utility line may have played role in starting fire
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Two Southern California wildfires that have forced nearly 100,000 people to evacuate are threatening to rip through nearby upscale neighborhoods as hurricane-force winds drive the flames over hillsides.
The blazes, in Orange County, are much smaller than some of the sprawling conflagrations that blackened huge swaths of Northern California over the past few months. But instead of burning remote forests, they’re raging beside densely populated subdivisions, threatening tens of the thousands of people and million-dollar homes.