Hundreds flee, homes burn, 3 hurt in Calif. fire

Hundreds flee, homes burn, 3 hurt in Calif. fire

BANNING, Calif. (AP) - A thousand firefighters battled a growing wildfire in the inland mountains of Southern California early today, trying to save small communities where some homes have been lost and an estimated 1,500 residents were forced to flee. Flames roiled along foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains in Banning Pass 90 miles east of Los Angeles. The fire moved eastward, pushed by a steady wind from the west, said Julie Hutchinson, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.