Officials say smoke from wind-whipped wildfires is causing unhealthy air for large swaths of Southern California.
The Latest on California wildfires (all times local):
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Officials say smoke from wind-whipped wildfires is causing unhealthy air for large swaths of Southern California.
A flare-up Sunday on the western edge of a huge fire burning in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties sent up a new plume that added to heavy smoke already choking areas around the cities of Ventura, Oxnard and Santa Paula.
The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District says air quality is especially bad in the Ojai Valley, where it has at times reached hazardous levels as flames burned surrounding hillsides.
To the southeast, regulators warned Saturday of unhealthy air across parts of greater Los Angeles despite progress being made against several wildfires burning there.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District urged residents to avoid vigorous outdoor activities.
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A major flare-up on the western edge of Southern California’s largest and most destructive wildfire has sent residents fleeing as flames churned through canyons and down hillsides toward coastal towns.
New evacuations were ordered Sunday in Carpinteria, a seaside city northwest of Los Angeles.
Santa Barbara County Fire spokesman Mike Eliason says crews saved several homes as unpredictable winds fanned the blaze.
The department posted a photo of one residence engulfed in flames. It’s unclear whether other structures burned.
Firefighters made significant progress on other fronts of the enormous fire that started Dec. 4 in Ventura County.
Forecasters say Santa Ana winds that whipped several fires across the region are expected to die down later Sunday.
Containment is way up on blazes in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties.
