A wildfire fueled by Santa Ana winds tore through a rural area southeast of Los Angeles on Monday, forcing 4,000 people to flee their homes, according to authorities.
The so-called Highland Fire began around 12:45 p.m. in dry, brush-covered hills near Aguanga, an unincorporated town in Riverside County.
As of Monday night, it covered an area of about 2 square miles (5 square kilometers), fire spokesman Jeff LaRusso said.
The evacuation orders affected about 1,300 homes and 4,000 residents, he added.
The flames had destroyed three buildings and damaged six others, but it was not immediately clear if they were homes. The region is not heavily populated but is home to horse ranches and a large area of mobile homes, the spokesman said.
At the moment no injuries have been reported.
Winds of 32 to 40 kilometers per hour (20 to 25 miles per hour), with some stronger gusts, spread flames and embers across grass and brush dried by recent winds and low humidity, causing would have fueled the fire, LaRusso claimed.
Winds are expected to calm overnight and firefighters will try to control the fire, he added.
