Publication Date December 6, 2017 | CNN

Wildfires continue to rage across Southern California

United States
Palm trees burn in Ventura on December 5. Photo: Kyle Grillot, AFP/Getty Images
Palm trees burn in Ventura on December 5. Photo: Kyle Grillot, AFP/Getty Images

Burning with extreme speed and ferocity, a flurry of wildfires torched more than 65,000 acres in Southern California, as firefighters struggled to contain the simultaneous infernos.

Powerful Santa Ana winds and extremely dry conditions fueled at least five wildfires Tuesday, marking what has been a devastating year for fires in California.

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Latest developments

• Curfew enacted: On Tuesday, the city of Ventura declared a daily curfew, beginning 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The curfew is to protect residents and prevent crime such as looting in the evacuation areas, the city said.

• Fire jumps freeway: The largest fire, called the Thomas Fire, was seen reaching the 101 freeway, north of Ventura, and even jumping across to the other side of the freeway.

• Blazing fast: The Thomas Fire had been burning at nearly an acre per second Tuesday. At that speed, it would have covered Manhattan's Central Park in about 15 minutes.

• Mass exodus: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said about 150,000 people in Los Angeles were affected by evacuation orders for another fire, called the Creek Fire, near Sylmar and Lake View Terrace.

• Power outage: About 43,000 homes are without power, according to Southern California Edison Tuesday night. More outages are possible because flames were burning along power transmission paths, a spokeswoman said.

• Other fires: The Rye Fire near Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County grew to about 5,000 acres and was 5% contained. That fire was spotted near the Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia.

In San Bernardino County, two smaller fires sprang up. One is fully contained while the Little Mountain fire, at 100 acres, is 0% contained.