Transcript for Fast-moving fires force mass evacuations in southern California
They woke up to a massacre Thursday, and now a wildfire burning out of control. You can see this home behind me, incinerated. They believe that embers landed on the home, and it erupted into flames, then burning down the right behind it. This is what the garage used to be. This demonstrates how easily the fires are burning across California. It hasn’t let up. The winds fanning the flames right along major highways. Racing down the mountains towards the coast, jumping the 101 here. In malibu, they’ve tweeted the fire is out of control. All residents evacuate now. We begin tonight with Clayton Sandell, on the way. They say the fire is now headed to populated areas. Reporter: Tonight, an urgent effort under way right now to get families out of harm’s way across southern California. Powerful, fast moving, destructive wildfires are burning a hole through L.A. And Ventura counties. In malibu, firefighters in hand-to-hand, house-to-house combat. The fire triggering mass evacuations. Traffic on the pacific coast highway backed up for miles. The traffic is getting heavier and heavier and slower and slower. Reporter: First responders racing to get families to safety. Report of three people trapped in a house. When you have 40, 50, 60-mile-an-hour winds blowing fire at your heels, the importance is to get people out of harm’s way. And get them to safety. Unfortunately, with that, in trying to get people out of harm’s way — Reporter: Ashley Snodgrass, saying she escaped out of her home. The fire people are there, but there’s nothing that they can do. Reporter: And you think your house is on fire now? Yeah. Reporter: Look at the flames and the smoke and how it’s blowing. That shows you the strength of those winds. Reporter: The fire exploding overnight, now more than 14,000 acres. You can see what happens when these wind gusts pick up. Just a little bit of smoldering debris suddenly sends up showers of embers and those embers can go downwind and start new fires. Flames jumping the 101 freeway before dawn, shutting it down. Tonight, dozens of homes are destroyed, and the fire shows no signs of slowing down, as evacuation orders and anxiety keep spreading. It is the afternoon winds that are flaring up, pushing the flames. They’ve fully engulfed these houses. This truck is on fire, the firefighters are here, but the bad news is that the fire
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