California fires: 10 large-scale blazes rage; winds may decrease today

May 11, 2014

California fires: 10 large-scale blazes rage; winds may decrease today

Kalani Gordon 2 Comments Nation, Weather california wildfires

Wildfires were raging in southern California on Thursday, keeping thousands of residents and students away from their homes after San Diego county officials maintained evacuation advisories.

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: A firefighter hoses flames at the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: A firefighter pulls a hose into position to battle the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: A ranch smolders at the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: A ranch is left a smoldering ruin by the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: Flames spread at the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: The grill of a pickup truck is left melted by the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: A house burns at the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: SAN MARCOS, CA – MAY 15: A house burns at the Cocos fire on May 15, 2014 in San Marcos, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: A home that has been burnt down by wildfires is seen on Phoenix Way in San Marcos, California May 16, 2014. Several thousand suburban San Diego residents forced to flee a wildfire threatening their towns were allowed to return home early on Friday as firefighters battled for a third day against a swarm of blazes burning in and around California’s second-largest city. (REUTERS/Sam Hodgson)

: A house that has been burnt down is seen on Phoenix Way in San Marcos, California May 16, 2014. Several thousand suburban San Diego residents forced to flee a wildfire threatening their towns were allowed to return home early on Friday as firefighters battled for a third day against a swarm of blazes burning in and around California’s second-largest city. (REUTERS/Sam Hodgson)

: A house that has been burnt down by wildfires is seen on Phoenix Way in San Marcos, California May 16, 2014. California firefighters were battling wind-whipped wildfires on Friday, as some 125,000 people fled their homes in the San Diego area and police arrested at least two people on arson-related charges. (REUTERS/Sam Hodgson)

: Fire crew put out smouldering embers from the Cocos Fire in San Marcos, California May 15, 2014. A towering wall of flames charged a hillside California community on Thursday as firefighters battled fierce wildfires that have forced 125,000 people to flee homes in the San Diego area and may have killed at least one person. (REUTERS/Sam Hodgson)

: The sun sets behind a scorched tree from the Cocos Fire in San Marcos, California May 15, 2014. A towering wall of flames charged a hillside California community on Thursday as firefighters battled fierce wildfires that have forced 125,000 people to flee homes in the San Diego area and may have killed at least one person. (REUTERS/Sam Hodgson)

: After climbing a hillside to view the so-called Poinsettia Fire, residents are evacuated by police as yet another wildfire near San Diego moves up a hillside near San Marcos, California May 14, 2014. At least two structures burned to the ground and some 15,000 homes and businesses were told to evacuate on Wednesday as the wind-lashed Poinsettia wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community. The blaze, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

: Residents watch firefighters battle the so-called Poinsettia Fire in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. At least two structures burned to the ground and some 15,000 homes and businesses were told to evacuate on Wednesday as the wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community. The blaze, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. (REUTERS/Sam Hodgson)

: Firefighters battle a wildfire in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. More than 20 structures, including several homes, burned to the ground and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday, as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of the Southern California coastal community of Carlsbad. (REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker)

: Firefighters battle a wildfire in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. More than 20 structures, including several homes, burned to the ground and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday, as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of the Southern California coastal community of Carlsbad. (REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker)

: Students from California State University, San Marcos, look at the smoke from the trees as they put out hot spots with fire extinguishers while firefighters battle a blaze in San Marcos, California May 14, 2014. California fire crews, helped by diminished overnight winds, made substantial headway by early Wednesday against a blaze that had prompted thousands of evacuations in and around San Diego for several hours while flames were at their peak. (REUTERS/Sam Hodgson)

: Residents move their motorcycles to safety as a fast moving wildfire approaches in San Marcos, California May 14, 2014. Wildfires roared out of control in Southern California, forcing authorities in San Diego county on Wednesday to order thousands of people to abandon their homes, including students at a state university, though no major injuries were reported. Television images showed several homes in flames, with thick black smoke filling the sky and drifting over the Pacific Ocean, as California entered the height of wildfire season in the midst of one of the state’s worst droughts on record. (REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker)

: Jonathon Collopy, a resident of Fairbanks Ranch neighborhood, surveys the Bernardo Fire from a property across the street from his house near San Diego, California May 13, 2014. More than 20,000 homes and other residences were being evacuated in and around San Diego on Tuesday as a fast-moving California wildfire driven by high winds blackened more than a square mile, fire and county officials said. (REUTERS/Sam Hodgson)

: A prison crew battles a fire in an avocado grove outside Fallbrook, California May 14, 2014. More than 20 structures, including several homes, burned to the ground and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday, as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community. The so-called Poinsettia Fire, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. (REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker)

: A prison crew battles a fire in an avocado grove outside Fallbrook, California May 14, 2014. More than 20 structures, including several homes, burned to the ground and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday, as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community. The so-called Poinsettia Fire, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. (REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker)

: A prison crew battles a fire in an avocado grove outside Fallbrook, California May 14, 2014. More than 20 structures, including several homes, burned to the ground and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday, as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community. The so-called Poinsettia Fire, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. (REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker)

: Firefighters battle fire as it turns and heads east towards another subdivision of homes in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. At least two structures burned to the ground and some 15,000 homes and businesses were told to evacuate on Wednesday as the wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community. The blaze, which erupted shortly before 11 a.m. in Carlsbad, some 25 miles north of San Diego, quickly became the most pressing battle for crews fighting flames across the region amid soaring temperatures and hot Santa Ana winds. REUTERS/Mike Blake)

: A burning home is doused with water as firefighters battle with wildfires in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. More than 11,000 homes and businesses were ordered to evacuate on Wednesday and power was cut off to many residents as a wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in San Diego County, authorities said. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

: A wildfire burns through a canyon in Carlsbad, California May 14, 2014. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

: A wildfire burns out of control in the Deer Springs area east of Fallbrook, Calif., on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

: A wildfire burns out of control in the Deer Springs area east of Fallbrook, Calif., on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

: The moon rises behind a house that was destroyed in the Poinsettia fire, one of nine wildfires fueled by wind and record temperatures that erupted in San Diego County throughout the day, on May 14, 2014 in Carlsbad, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. The Poinsettia fire has destroyed at least eight homes and severely damaged eight condos and two businesses. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: The ruins of a home smoulder in the night after it was destroyed in the Poinsettia fire, one of nine wildfires fueled by wind and record temperatures that erupted in San Diego County throughout the day, on May 14, 2014 in Carlsbad, California. Fire agencies throughout the state are scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a dangerous year of wildfires in this third year of extreme drought in California. The Poinsettia fire has destroyed at least eight homes and severely damaged eight condos and two businesses. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

: A firefighter douses flames to protect the house behind him during a wildfire May 14, 2014 in San Marcos, California. About 500 acres have burned in the San Marcos blaze, fueled by record heat, high winds and dry conditions. At least four other fires advanced in nearby communities. (Photo by Bill Wechter/Getty Images)

Of the 10 large-scale fires burning in the region, structures have been reported lost in two: the Cocos fire in San Marcos and the Poinsettia fire in Carlsbad.

San Marcos homeowner James Harkins, surveying his neighborhood. called it “moonscape.”

“There ain’t nothing here,” he said. “Just white ash and white ash and white ash.”

Firefighters hope their battle will be aided Friday by an expected decrease in the speed and erratic nature of the winds in the area as the Santa Anas dissipate.

– Tribune

Around the web

Track the California wildfire damage (KPCC)
Los Angeles Times full wildfire coverage

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