Thousands evacuated as wildfires burn in California

A fire in the mountains north of Los Angeles has forced thousands of people to evacuate, but firefighters are making headway against the blaze.

The Canyon Fire sparked on Thursday and quickly grew to more than 7.6 square miles, The Associated Press reported.

In all, about 5,000 acres have burned.

“These fires can start and grow pretty rapidly because of how dry everything is and how hot everything is,” National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Lewis told the AP.

Hundreds of firefighters on the ground and in the air in planes and helicopters worked to contain the blaze, which was about 25% under control on Friday, KNBC reported.

On Thursday, crews had to deal with 100-degree temperatures and winds, officials said, according to the AP.

No civilians have been hurt, but one firefighter had minor injuries. No single-family or multi-family homes have been destroyed.

A separate wildfire, dubbed the Gifford Fire, has burned more than 101,000 acres, according to Watch Duty. It was formed by four smaller fires that started on Aug. 1, the AP reported.

There have been more than 4,400 wildfires in California so far this year, up from 3,800 at the same time last year.