LOS ANGELES: Fires near Los Angeles pushed 5,000 people out of their homes this weekend from the affluent Calabasas area, a suburb home to many celebrities including members of the Kardashian family.
The wildfire that sparked Saturday afternoon has already seared through nearly 500 acres (200 hectares), and firefighters said Sunday they still had only 30 percent under control.
Two homes have been damaged and one commercial building destroyed.
There were no immediate reports of civilian injuries. Two firefighters suffered from mild injuries and a third experienced heart problems.
Authorities have allowed many of the 5,000 people displaced to return home, but temperatures pushing 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) combined with wind is threatening to push the blaze toward Topanga Canyon, a community north of Los Angeles that overlooks the beaches in Malibu.
Residents living there remain under the evacuation order.
The fire is on the side of a mountain, making it difficult for firefighters to access, said John Tripp, a deputy chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, at a press conference.
“This is a moving fire front, hung up on a midslope of the canyon,” Tripp continued. “That makes it extremely dangerous to do what is called a direct attack and try to get containment.”
Tripp added that as the Sunday heat rises the fire could keep spreading, fueled by a record four years of drought that’s left vegetation in the area extremely dry.
Three fires ignited almost simultaneously in the area Saturday afternoon. The biggest one likely flared up when a vehicle struck a utility pole, officials said. Authorities are investigating what caused the second and third fires.
Many celebrities reside in Calabasas, including pop singer Jessica Simpson, and stars of the reality series “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
Three sisters from the show took to social media to document the inferno. Model Kendall Jenner posted a Snapchat photo — that celebrity magazine People published — showing a large smoke cloud menacing the area.
Sister Kylie Jenner, also a model, wrote “Am I going to have to evacuate?” on the social media platform.
Khloe Kardashian replied with her own Snap: “No Kylie, you won’t have to evacuate, because it’s closer to my house than yours, sadly, so let’s pray nobody has to evacuate.”
