Homes burn in Southern California amid fast-moving fire, prompting evacuation orders

A fast-moving fire burned at least six homes in hot Southern California on Friday, prompting evacuations and power outages, authorities said.

TV footage showed homes engulfed in flames in San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Firefighters sprayed two-storey suburban homes with flames leaping out of their roofs. Black smoke billowed over tennis courts and backyard swimming pools.

Over 500 firefighters were battling the blaze that had grown to nearly two square kilometres, said Capt. Steve Concialdi, a spokesman with the Orange County Fire Authority.

“We’re doing everything we can to protect structures,” he told KTLA-TV. The Orange County Fire Authority could not be immediately reached by phone.

The Norte fire started in the coastal city of San Clemente and wind drove it into San Juan Capistrano.

A man uses a water hose to battle the Norte Fire in San Clemente, Calif., on Friday. (Caroline Brehman/Reuters)

It was one of several fires in the region that was hit by dry, warm and gusty northeast winds known as Santa Anas, which blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore.

The strongest winds were expected through Friday afternoon, but conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday night.

Firefighters attempt to save structures in San Clemente, Calif., while battling the Norte Fire on Friday. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register/The Associated Press)

Tens of thousands of people in the state are without power after their electricity was turned off. A separate fire shut down a section of Interstate 5 that is a major artery connecting Orange County to San Diego, adding hours to commutes throughout Southern California.

The coastal cities are surrounded by hillsides. San Juan Capistrano, a city of 35,000, is known for horse trails and the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. San Clemente, which is home to 62,000 people, is known as a “Spanish village by the sea” and popular with beachgoers and surfers.

Fire ‘right up on the city’

Thousands were being asked to evacuate the area, said Victor Cabral, a San Clemente council member.

Traffic is seen moving along Interstate 5, toward the Norte Fire, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., on Friday. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images)

“The fire is right up on the city,” he said. “It’s on the perimeter of our homes on the north end.”

Nine schools were also closed Friday in San Juan Capistrano, the Capistrano Unified School District said.

Howard Hart, a councilmember for San Juan Capistrano, said he and his wife doused their roof with water and moved propane tanks away from their home before they evacuated Friday.

Laura Hart hasn’t had to evacuate due to fire in the more than five decades she’s lived in the community, she said.

“This doesn’t usually happen to us, we usually see it on the news,” she said. “We always pray to God it’s not us, but yeah, it was today.”

Progress on Bryson Fire

The Bryson Fire that sparked Thursday in Malibu, Calif., had died down significantly and firefighters on Friday were focused on mop-up and containment, officials said. The blaze prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a swath of the Santa Monica Mountains that covered more than 12,000 people.

A firefighting helicopter is seen dropping water on the Bryson Fire on Thursday. (David Swanson/Reuters)

Winds from 32 km/h to 56 km/h were expected Friday, with gusts forecast to reach 80 km/h to 112 km/h in some areas, the U.S. National Weather Service said.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who faced criticism for her city’s response to deadly fires in 2025, directed the fire department to deploy personnel and equipment ahead of the winds. The fire department also requested assistance from the state’s office of emergency services.

“It’s a pretty widespread event of elevated fire weather, so the whole SoCal region should really be on alert,” said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the U.S. National Weather Service.

Several blazes in Southern California

Firefighters on Friday worked to contain two other fires that had sparked Thursday afternoon and triggered evacuation orders in the city of Azusa, Calif., and Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.

More than 200,000 customers in California were without electricity as of Friday, according to poweroutage.com.

Some of California’s worst wildfires have been sparked by power equipment, and utilities in recent years have begun proactively shutting off power in dry winds.

Farther south, a fire at Camp Pendleton threatened buildings and doubled in size over one day to more than 8 kilometres. The blaze crossed containment lines Friday morning, closing a section of the I-5 freeway as the fire burned steadily toward it.