Calif. governor declares state of emergency

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Monterey counties as wildfires burn large areas and threaten homes.

The order Friday comes as firefighters battle two blazes in the Angeles National Forest above Los Angeles' northeastern suburbs and mop up the remnants of an overnight fire on the Palos Verdes Peninsula that singed six houses. The fires have forced the evacuation of numerous homes.

In Monterey County, a wildfire near Soledad has reached 5,000 acres, or nearly 8 square miles. About 100 homes are under evacuation orders.

Structures burned in the wealthy communities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula south of Los Angeles, while suburbs on the foothills to the north of the city were evacuated as a slumbering fire that suddenly roared to life in the evening hours.

As the flames made their way slowly down from the San Gabriel Mountains, mandatory evacuations were ordered for about 500 homes in La Canada Flintridge, said Forest Service fire spokeswoman Diane Cahir.

The fire kicked up late Thursday afternoon as the blaze scorched at least 500 acres of heavy brush in steep and narrow canyons about 12 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.

Dozens of homes were evacuated in Rancho Palos Verdes, Los Angeles County fire Inspector Steve Zermeno said. TV news footage showed structures on fire and at least one entirely engulfed in flames. Fire officials could not confirm if any structures or homes had been damaged or destroyed.

Firefighting helicopters, which usually don't fly at night, took advantage of the lack of wind and the light from the bright flames to swoop over the blaze and drop water.

Weather plagued fire crews across Southern California as temperatures in some areas rose toward triple digits and humidity levels headed downward. For a second day, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning of extreme fire conditions for many of California's central and southern mountain ranges.

Three days of low humidity and temperatures that hit 99 before noon in downtown Los Angeles sapped the brush of moisture.