Two rapidly growing wildfires merged in the parched foothills just northeast of Los Angeles on Tuesday (June 21), forcing the evacuation of more than 800 homes, officials said.
The two fires erupted as California and other southwestern U.S. states baked in a heat wave.
The so-called Fish Fire and the Reservoir Fire, which both broke out on Monday in the Angeles National Forest, and now jointly referred to by authorities as the San Gabriel Complex, doubled in size overnight and by midday Tuesday had devoured some 5,400 acres combined, according to latest estimates.
The fires burning more than 20 miles (32 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles are primarily located near the suburban towns of Duarte and Azusa.
Overnight, a flank of the Fish Fire crept down a hillside on the east side of Duarte, lapping at brush just beyond some houses before firefighters extinguished the flames, Los Angeles County Fire Chief John Tripp said at a news conference.
Officials warned more evacuations could be ordered.
More than 600 firefighters have been called in to help battle the fire that is being fueled by dry brush and chaparral, and wast partly ignited by a car crash.
Meanwhile, a half-dozen other wildfires continue to burn across California.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016