⁍ Firefighters in Southern California reported little headway on Tuesday against two explosive, wind-whipped wildfires.

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⁍ Howling Santa Ana winds, blowing hot, dry air from the desert, had put much of the fire-ravaged state under red-flag warnings.

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⁍ Winds that had accelerated the Orange County fires had settled down to 5 to 10 miles per hour (8 to 16 kph), with occasional gusts of up to 20 mph (32 kph)
Two firefighters were critically injured fighting the blaze, with second- and third-degree burns over much of their bodies.

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– Tens of thousands of Southern California residents have been forced to flee their homes as two wildfires rage south of Los Angeles. Two firefighters were critically injured fighting the blaze, with second- and third-degree burns over much of their bodies, the Orange County Fire Authority said. Two firefighters were critically injured fighting the blaze, with second- and third-degree burns over much of their bodies, the OCFA said. The blaze, which was not immediately blamed for any property loss, may have been started by equipment owned by Southern California Edison, the utility company said. ‘It appears that a lashing wire attached to a telecommunications line may have contacted SCE’s power line above it, possibly starting the fire,’ a company spokesman said. As a precautionary measure, the utility said on Tuesday that it had cut power to nearly 19,000 homes and businesses, including about 1,270 in Orange County. The fire in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains south of Los Angeles prompted officials to order more than 90,000 residents to leave their homes on Monday in and around the city of Irvine, officials said. The Irvine Unified School District closed schools for the day. The other Orange County blaze, the Blue Ridge fire, which broke out later near Yorba Linda, also spread quickly overnight, charring 15,200 acres by Tuesday morning, OCFA said. Some 1,000 firefighters had yet to set up any containment lines around the blaze, which damaged 10 homes and is threatening thousands more. No injuries have been linked to the Blue Ridge fire.