CORRALITOS, Calif. — Gusty winds fanned a wildfire Thursday that burned several homes, forced evacuations and closed schools in the mountains of central California, where rugged terrain frustrated efforts to get a handle on the fast-moving blaze.
Hundreds of people fled as the more than 4-square-mile fire continued to grow despite more than 500 firefighters and a swarm of tanker planes and helicopters dousing the area.
Residents of more than 1,700 homes were asked or ordered to leave.
A separate round of evacuations was ordered in Southern California, where downpours Thursday triggered mudslides in three Orange County canyons scarred by last fall’s wildfires.
In Florida, a wildfire forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in the Deerhaven area north of Orlando.
