California wildfire engulfs almost 1000 acres; see pics

Almost 1,000 acres of land has been charred by the wildfire since it erupted in the Los Angeles national forest on Saturday evening. The hot, dry and windy weather intensified the conflagration that forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes. According to the reports, the wildfire also engulfed many residential properties in the near by area. Around two hundred firefighters are working continuously to douse the fire. “The fuel is very dry, so it acts like a ladder, carrying flames from the bottom of the trees to the very top,” Dierkes said. Crews were also contending with unpredictable winds that were expected to strengthen later in the day, fire spokesperson Dana Dierkes said. The experts have issued a warning that the current year looked set to be a terrible year for wildfire. "Given the fuel conditions, the fire conditions that we're here talking about, I foresee a very tough four, five, six months in front of us," Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy said last week. The National Weather Service also said that fire danger was widespread across the region. "An expansive area of critical fire weather conditions is expected across the Southwest into the southern and central Rockies and High Plains," the NWS said on its website.