LOS ANGELES, Calif — Update 1 p.m.
About 7,000 homes are under evacuation orders as a wind-driven wildfire burns northwest of Los Angeles.
Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub says about 26,000 people are affected by the orders, most of which are mandatory.
The fire erupted just after 6 a.m. Wednesday near the hilltop Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near the communities of Simi Valley and Moorpark.
County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen says it was "about the worst time it could happen" because of strong winds and "fuels that were ripe and ready to carry fire."
The fire has moved rapidly between suburban tracts on sparsely developed lands that include small horse ranches and some agriculture.
Lorenzen says some outbuildings have been destroyed and there is a report a possible home burning.
Incident Commander Chad Cook says firefighters made a successful stand protecting the Reagan Library, but he cautions that the entire burned area is still considered to be a threat.
Update 12:20 p.m.
Evacuations are underway as winds spread a wildfire in the inland region of Southern California.
The Riverside County Fire Department says a blaze in Jurupa Valley 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Los Angeles has grown to 50 acres Wednesday.
A KABC-TV video shows elderly people being taken from a health care facility on wheelchairs and gurneys as smoke swirls.
The fire department says two mobile home parks are also under evacuation orders and the State Route 60 has been closed down.
In Los Angeles County, firefighters report they have stopped a fire in the city of Calabasas, not far from where a large wildfire is threatening thousands of homes in eastern Ventura County.
Update: 10:30 a.m.
A wind-driven wildfire burning northwest of Los Angeles has grown to 1,300 acres (526 hectares).
The Ventura County Fire Department says the blaze is threatening 6,500 homes.
The fire erupted before dawn Wednesday between the cities of Simi Valley and Moorpark and has been spread by strong Santa Ana winds.
Flames have approached the hilltop Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, but a spokeswoman says no damage has occurred.
Helicopters and airplanes are dropping water and fire retardant as some 800 firefighters battle the flames on the ground.
Update 10:20 a.m.
A spokeswoman for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Southern California says the complex has not been damaged by a nearby wildfire that has grown to more than 970 acres (392 hectares).
Melissa Giller says the fire came within about 30 yards (27 meters) of the complex Wednesday morning but that it has been protected by aerial water drops and a firebreak, a gap of cleared vegetation that functions as a barrier to stop wildfires.
Giller says a herd of a goats is brought in annually to eat the vegetation and create the firebreak.
The fire erupted before dawn as strong winds hit Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles.
Flames are pushing through sparsely developed hills between suburban tracts. Horses are being evacuated from small ranches.
Original story
A large new wildfire has erupted in Southern California as strong Santa Ana winds blow through the region and officials ordered mandatory evacuations.
Television images showed the fire burning before dawn Wednesday in the Simi Valley area about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
Ventura County officials have tweeted that the brush fire is large without providing more details on its size and say it is burning between the cities of Simi Valley and Moorpark.
Mandatory evacuations were issued but officials did not say how many people were subject to the orders.
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A spokeswoman for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which is in the vicinity, says it is being protected by firefighters as the wind-driven wildfire burns nearby in hills.
Melissa Giller said Wednesday morning that the hilltop library in the city of Simi Valley is safe as the fire burns between Simi Valley and Moorpark, where evacuations have been ordered.
Giller says the portion of the library closest to the fire is a pavilion housing a former Air Force One aircraft.
The portion of the library housing archives faces away from the fire.
Giller says hundreds of goats are brought in each year to the library grounds as a fire prevention method so they can eat away vegetation that can fuel wildfires on the undeveloped portions of the 300-acre property.
The National Weather Service says Santa Ana winds developed more slowly than expected in Southern California but strong gusts topping 50 mph are being reported early Wednesday.
So far, the winds have stayed away from the section of Los Angeles that burned Monday in the Getty fire, where there's concern that smoldering embers could be carried away by gusts and start new fires.
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