Southern California wildfire forces hundreds to evacuate from area around Corona.

Southern California Wildfire Forces Hundreds to Evacuate

Southern California Wildfire Forces Hundreds to Evacuate

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Sept. 26 2017 9:40 AM

Southern California Wildfire Forces Hundreds to Evacuate

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The fire has consumed 2,000 acres of vegetation.

Anaheim Fire & Rescue Deptartment/Twitter

A large wildfire that ripped through a canyon in Southern California on Monday has forced the evacuation of as many as 1,500 residents living around the Santa Ana Mountains near Anaheim.

The Canyon Fire, as authorities are calling it, has consumed 2,000 acres of vegetation and is only 5 percent contained, according to the Corona, California, fire department. Helicopters and other aircraft dropped water on the fire all through Monday and the night. Crews used bulldozers and cleared vegetation by hand to try to halt the fire’s advance as gusts of up to 30 miles per hour whipped the flames and shifted the direction of their advance. Authorities reported that only one home was damaged, and they have not reported any injuries.

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The fire started at about 1 p.m. Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times, and it spread into Chino Hills State Park a couple hours later. The authorities haven’t yet said what first sparked the fire.

Four schools have been closed, and residents were told to shelter in the local high school athletics field house. Closed roads caused halted traffic in the area.