California fires: More blazes sparked in Los Angeles area

More fires have broken out in southern California, setting thousands of acres ablaze, amid a state-wide emergency.

For the past two weeks, extreme weather conditions, including hurricane-force gusts, have sparked fires and forced thousands of people from their homes.

In the northern regions, over 77,000 acres of wine country burned before winds began to die down.

In the south, firefighters are hoping to be able to contain the fires as winds ease into the weekend.

On Halloween, the Hillside Fire began burning in the San Bernardino valley area, east of Los Angeles .

A man wearing a mask watched his neighbour's home burn in the North Park district of San Bernardino.

The Hillside Fire has burned at least six homes and damaged 18 since Thursday.

A fire also started on Thursday in Ventura County, north-west of Los Angeles. It has consumed 8,000 acres as of Friday morning. Mandatory evacuations are in place for 7,500 residents.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, nearly 200,000 acres have burned thus far in 2019 in 6,190 fire incidents, and 698 buildings and homes have been destroyed or damaged.

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In recent days the flames were fanned by dry winds known as "Santa Ana wind". Some reached hurricane speed of up to 78mph (125km/h).

The Easy Fire, which began burning in the same region on Wednesday, is 60% contained. The blaze had threatened the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which is due to open again on Friday.

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Some save livestock as the fire raged near the presidential library.

In northern California's wine region, the Kincade Fire is 65% contained. Over 160 homes have been destroyed by the blaze since it began on 23 October.

This week, around 1.1m homes were without power as utility company Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) cut power as a fire prevention measure. Power has now been restored to most of the homes, the company told local media.

Hundreds of thousands of others could still see power cuts this weekend, depending on weather conditions and fires in the south.

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