Fast-moving brush fire threatens 1,000 homes in Southern California

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A wind-whipped brush fire destroyed multiple homes in the Anaheim Hills area, and authorities said 1,000 homes were threatened.

According to KTLA, the fire started around 10 a.m. Monday scorching about 25 acres near Highways 91 and 241.

In just a few hours it had grown to about 2,000 acres and was 0 percent contained, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

“We’ve got winds out here gusting up to 45 mph, and that’s what driving this fire. It’s been an extreme rate of spread,” said Sgt. Daron Wyatt with Anaheim Fire and Rescue.

At least six homes were destroyed, according to KTLA.

More than 200 firefighters were battling the fire by Monday afternoon along with six helicopters and six fixed-wing planes.

Evacuation orders were in place for some Anaheim Hills residents and shelters had been set up.

Another fire burned in the same area on Sept. 25. That fire forced 1,500 residents to evacuate and six structures were damaged.

The Oct. 9 fire, called the Canyon Fire 2, started while a Red Flag Warning was in effect.

Meanwhile, in Northern California more than a dozen wildfires whipped by powerful winds swept through California wine country Monday, destroying at least 1,500 homes and businesses and sending an estimated 20,000 people on a headlong flight to safety through smoke and flames.