Winds die down, power widely restored, and some Californians going home

Strong winds that fanned Southern California wildfires earlyThursdayburning homes and forcing residents to flee in a repeat of the frightening scenario facingtens of thousands across the state finally began dying down by evening.

At the same time, the state's largest utility saidit had restored power to nearly all of the hundreds of thousands of people it blacked out earlier this week. Only about 13,000 people remained without power Thursday evening.

Authorities, meanwhile, ordered evacuations for about 7,500 people as a wildfire burnedon a hilltop north of Los Angeles. The fire on South Mountain near Santa Paula erupted Thursday evening and quickly grew to over 16 square kilometres.

Ventura County fire officials said it's threatening the unincorporated community of Somis, which has about 3,000 residents.

Other recentfires erupted in the heavily populated inland region east of Los Angeles as strong, seasonal Santa Ana winds blew with gusts of up to 95 km/h.

Watch: Firefighters try to save a home in San Bernardino

Flames engulf a San Bernardino home

5 years ago

Duration 0:47

Firefighters confront what looks to be a losing battle as the fast-moving fire in San Bernardino consumes a home

A fast-moving fire spread into the northern neighbourhoods of the city of San Bernardino, forcing the evacuation of 490 homes approximately 1,300 people, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said.

Thefire scorched 80 hectares of dry brush along a freeway and damaged at least eight buildings. There were no injuries reported, and people were allowed to begin returning to the area by Thursday evening.

In the nearby city of Jurupa Valley, a fire started in the wee hours of Thursday morningwhen suspects in a stolen car chased by police drove the damaged vehicle into a field that then ignited.Riverside Police spokespersonOfficer Ryan Railsback said later thattwo suspects were arrested and will be charged with arson and other offences.

Three residences and two outbuildings were confirmed destroyed by that fire, the county's fire department said.

That fire followed another Wednesday in Jurupa Valley that forced the evacuation of two mobile home parks and a psychiatric nursing care facility, where elderly people wearing face masks and wrapped in blankets were taken out in wheelchairs and gurneys as smoke swirled overhead.

"There was one moment when I could see nothing but dark smoke and I was like, 'We're going to die,"' said Qiana McCracken, assistant director of nursing for the Riverside Heights Healthcare Center.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) left vast areas of Northern and central California in the dark this week to keep high winds from damaging electrical equipment and causing wildfires.

Company official Mark Quinlan says this time, crews found more than 150 instances of damage, ranging from broken power poles to tree branches flung into the lines. Quinlan says any one could have sparked a devastating wildfire.

The Santa Anawinds that help create California's most destructive wildfires prompted a brushfire to quickly explode in size after it broke out before dawn Wednesday near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library between the cities of Simi Valley and Moorpark northwest of Los Angeles.

Officials ordered about 30,000 people to leave, although some were being allowed back home Wednesday night as fire crews began to get a handle on the blaze.

Crews remained at the scene through the night to make sure embers would not rekindle more fires after an army of firefighters helped protect the hilltop Reagan museum, which sat like an island in a soot-black sea. There was no damage, library spokespersonMelissa Giller said.

Nearby residents had little time to heed evacuation orders as the flames approached.

Elena Mishkanian was able to gather only some basics. Her son, Troy, 13, netted six pet fish from a tank and put them in pots.

"Fish have feelings!" he said when his sister Megan teased him about it.

Frightened horses screamed in a nearby barn as Beth Rivera used a garden hose to water down the edges of her home to keep embers from igniting dry grass and trees. Friends helped get 11 horses out.

The cause was not yet determined, but Southern California Edison filed a report with state regulators to say the fire began near its power lines. Electrical equipment has sparked some of California's worst wildfires in recent years and prompted utilities to resort to precautionary power outages. SoCal Edison had not cut power in the area at the time this fire started.

WATCH: L.A.-area fire threatenshomes

L.A. fire threatens homes

5 years ago

Duration 0:46

Evacuations ordered as Castlewood brush fire threatens homes in Los Angeles area

In the short term, there was good news from forecasters.

"This is the last event in our near future. We are not expecting any Santa Anas next week," weather service meteorologist Kristen Stewart said.

But she noted the forecast only extends out seven days.

"Once we get past that, all bets are off," she said.