Monstrous California wildfire drives more than 80,000 from homes

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — California's newest huge wildfire advanced on thousands of homes today, feeding on drought-stricken vegetation and destroying an untold number of structures as it expanded to nearly 47 square miles.

Flames climbed the flanks of the San Gabriel Mountains toward the town of Wrightwood, where authorities said that only half of the community's 4,500 residents had complied with evacuation orders.

Officials estimated that more than 34,000 homes and some 82,000 people were under evacuation warnings.

"This is not the time to mess around," said Battalion Chief Mark Peebles of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. "If you are asked to evacuate, please evacuate."

Less than 24 hours after the blaze began 60 miles east of Los Angeles, the fire command assembled a fleet of 10 air tankers, 15 helicopters and an army of 1,300 firefighters, many of them just off the lines of a wildfire that burned for 10 days just to the east.