SAN FRANCISCO — Several brush fires were burning in Southern California on Thursday evening, stoked by hot, windy weather that caused utility companies to shut off electricity for tens of thousands of people around the state.
\n\nA rapidly spreading blaze in Malibu, a coastal town west of Los Angeles, prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a large swathe of the Santa Monica Mountains. A large cloud of black smoke over the hilltops could be seen on nearby cameras and miles away.
\n\nThe blaze grew to about 200 acres and was threatening a Los Angeles County juvenile detention and rehabilitative facility, which had to be evacuated Thursday night.
\n\nThe National Weather Service forecast increased wind gusts overnight that could bolster fire activity.
\n\nFirefighters worked to contain two other fires that had sparked in the afternoon and triggered evacuation orders in the city of Azusa, north of L.A., and Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.
\n\nIn Northern California, nearly 62,000 customers in 26 counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills, wine country and the central coast had no electricity, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which began proactively turning off power Wednesday night. An additional 65,000 customers in Los Angeles, Kern and Ventura…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business