Weather conditions are hampering efforts to bring the fires under control
© REUTERSWeather conditions are hampering efforts to bring the fires under control
A fast-burning wildfire has triggered evacuation orders for 60,000 Southern California residents, as hundreds of thousands elsewhere across the state endured a second straight day of power shutoffs due to heightened fire risks from high winds. The Silverado fire sparked early in Orange county, quickly jumping a highway and exploding to 4,000 acres. The fire had doubled in size within two hours, with strong wind gusts pushing flames along brushy ridges in Silverado canyon toward thousands of homes. The latest threats came amid California's worst wildfire season on record in terms of landscape burned, with more than 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) scorched since the start of the year, along with thousands of homes destroyed and 31 lives lost.