A fast-moving wildfire in Southern California quickly consumed hundreds of acres and burned multiple homes after sparking in Orange County Friday, county officials said.

The Norte Fire began around noon near a neighborhood in the San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano areas and by Friday evening had grown to 570 acres, the Orange County Fire Authority said. It’s one of several fires that have broken out since Thursday amid fierce Santa Ana winds affecting Southern California.

“Our actions today will be to continue to attack the fire and work toward getting residents home as soon as it’s safe to so do,” Orange County Fire Authority Captain Greg Barta said Saturday morning in a video on X.

Topography and weather conditions allowed the fire to grow rapidly, Orange County Division 3 Fire Chief Mark Backoff said in a Read Entire Article