Publication Date July 25, 2016 | NPR

California Fires Threaten Homes, Force Hundreds Of Evacuations

United States
Firefighters retreat ahead of flames in Placerita Canyon north of Los Angeles on Sunday. The Sand Fire there has burned an estimated 33,000 acres of dry vegetation, and thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
Firefighters retreat ahead of flames in Placerita Canyon north of Los Angeles on Sunday. The Sand Fire there has burned an estimated 33,000 acres of dry vegetation, and thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from communities north of Los Angeles because a wildfire is burning out of control in dry, hot canyons. More than a dozen homes have already been destroyed and a man was found dead in a car inside the fire zone on Saturday. Much of the area where the Sand Fire, named after Sand Canyon, is burning has not burned for decades. Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief John Tripp says the area was at high risk for a fast-moving fire