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Cooler weather on Thursday aided firefighters battling out-of-control blazes around Los Angeles, but officials warned the fast-moving fires were unpredictable and could suddenly explode.
Around 173 square miles (450 square kilometers) have been torched in the three fires, which have destroyed dozens of homes and forced hundreds of families to flee.
One woman whose home was leveled by the fast-moving Line Fire northeast of the city said she and her children had only minutes to evacuate.
“It happened really fast,” Brooke Palenchar told broadcaster KTLA.
“We weren’t able to grab much before we left… I have about three Tupperwares left of our lives.”
Footage from the home showed only a brick chimney standing among twisted metal and charred debris.
Investigators believe the fire, which has consumed 37,000 acres (15,000 hectares) in a week, was started deliberately.
Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, from Norco has been arrested on suspicion of arson. Reports Thursday said detectives believe he may be a serial arsonist.
Thousands of firefighters from across the region are tackling the vast fire, working long, intense days.
“Our shifts are 24 hours, but due to the crew rotation, we end up working about 28-hour shifts,” Captain Kyle Arledge of Ventura County Fire said.
Pyrocumulous clouds
To the west, the Bridge Fire in the Angeles National Forest — the largest active blaze in California — has now swelled to over 51,000 acres, destroying at least 33 homes.
