A fast-moving wildfire spreads north of Los Angeles, forcing evacuations

A wildfire northwest of Los Angeles has burned more than 14,600 acres and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people, California fire officials said.

The fast-growing blaze, which began around 2 p.m. on Saturday in Gorman, in Los Angeles County west of the I-5, was moving southeast toward Pyramid Lake, CalFire said on Sunday.

Fueled by strong winds and low humidity, the so-called Post Fire exploded overnight. It spread into Ventura County to the west, burning 2,000 acres there, largely in the Los Padres National Forest, LAist reported.

The fire was 2% contained as of Sunday evening.

Complicating firefighting efforts, strong winds that had picked up on Sunday were expected to last until at least Monday. Wind gusts had reached 55 mph in the region and were forecast to reach up to 70 mph at night, the National Weather Service said Sunday afternoon, before decreasing throughout Monday.

"Conditions will be favorable for rapid rates of fire growth and spread, especially [Sunday night]," the NWS said.

Evacuation orders were in place for Hungry Valley Park — where state park officials evacuated some 1,200 people — and Pyramid Lake, which has been closed.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to CalFire. No injuries were reported.

California’s wildfire season is off to an aggressive start. This year so far, fires have consumed about 41,900 acres, higher than the average of 27,100 acres burned during the same period for the past five years, according to CalFire data.