Thousands under evacuation near Los Angeles as wildfire torches homes

Over ten thousand people were ordered to evacuate communities northwest of Los Angeles as fierce seasonal winds drove a wildfire down tinder-dry hillsides into ranches and homes, authorities said.

Firefighters and police cleared residents from neighborhoods near Camarillo before homes were set ablaze by embers blown two miles (3.2 km) from the fire front, Ventura County fire department Captain Tony McHale said by phone from near the blaze.

“It’s like trying to put out a blowtorch...