Wildfire Expands in California North of LA

More than 600 firefighters are now involved in trying to control a California wildfire that broke out Wednesday afternoon. It quickly grew to over a 70,000-acre area by midday Friday.

The fire is impacting a mostly rural area, about 110 miles northwest of Los Angeles. But as of Friday, smoke from the expanding fire was beginning to affect air quality in Los Angeles.

Local TV station KTLA 5 reported it is now the largest wildfire in the state so far this year and the smoke is beginning to affect millions of people throughout Southern California. The federal Bureau of Land Management on Thursday ordered the "emergency closure of all Carrizo Plain National Monument lands." People were told to "Stay out for your safety and to avoid interfering with firefighting."

Fire investigators have not been able to determine what started the wildfire.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection predicted things are only going to get worse for the next few days. It has posted evacuation orders and warnings for a large area near the fire.

Weather conditions will play a key role in how things develop. As of late afternoon Friday, fire management officials said the outlook was bleak for at least the following 72 hours. "Fire behavior is expected to be extreme, characterized by rapid uphill runs and wind-driven head fire spread."

KTLA reported that people throughout the entire region were faced with deteriorating air quality conditions. Independence Day holiday fireworks displays would only make things worse with a local air quality office advising, "the Air Pollution Index expected to reach hazardous levels at times on Friday and Saturday in large parts of Los Angeles and Orange counties and the Inland Empire."

The California fire management office reported firefighters were also working on at least six additional wildfires in the state, including at least three that developed Friday.

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