Thousands told to evacuate as California cities burn under out-of-control wildfire

Thousands have been forced to evacuate as California cities burn under out-of-control wildfires amid a days-long heat wave of triple-digit temperatures.

Video footage has captured the out-of-control wildfires this weekend with blazes ravaging thousands of acres across California, Oregon and Nevada.

The so-called Line Fire was burning uncontrolled along the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of LA. 

The fire in Southern California has spread to over 20,500 acres.

UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said the fire has 'room to grow now in essentially three directions and there are population centers and pretty dense, dry vegetation in between those population centers.'

The fire began Thursday evening, and the cause is under investigation.

The fire remained uncontained Sunday afternoon. As of Sunday morning, the blaze had charred about 27 square miles (70 square kilometers) of grass and chaparral, leaving a thick cloud of dark smoke blanketing the area.

The fire burned so hot Saturday that it created its own thunderstorm-like weather systems of pyroculumus clouds.   

That could bring more challenging conditions such as gusty winds and lightning strikes, according to the National Weather Service. 

Firefighters also faced steep terrain, which limited their ability to control the blaze, officials said. 

About 500 firefighters were battling the blaze, supported by water-dropping helicopters that hovered over homes and hillsides, along with aircraft.

Now, the out-of-control wildfire in the foothills of a national forest east of Los Angeles is threatening ten of thousands of buildings. 

Running Springs resident Steven Michael King told the Associated Press that he had planned to stay to fight the fire and help his neighbors until Sunday morning, when the fire escalated. 

He had prepped his house to prevent fire damage but decided to leave out of fear smoke could keep him from finding a way out later.

'It came down to, which is worse, being trapped or being in a shelter?' he said outside an evacuation center Sunday. 'When conditions changed, I had to make a quick decision, just a couple of packs and it all fits in a shopping cart.'

Joseph Escobedo said his family has lived in Angelus Oaks for about three years and has never had to evacuate for wildfire. His family, with three young children, was among the remaining few who haven't left the area as of Sunday afternoon.

'It's kind of frightening with the possibility of losing your home and losing everything we worked really hard for,' Escobedo said as his family packed up the essentials to leave. 'It's hard to leave and not be sure if you're gonna be able to come back.'

Arrowbear Lake resident Michael Lee said he left his home with his dog Saturday afternoon. Lee, a photographer, had turned back to retrieve a camera and didn't get to the evacuation center in Highland until nearly seven hours later.

'I wanna get back to home,' Lee said sitting in his car outside the evacuation center. 'The triple-digit weather down here is nasty.'

State firefighters said three firefighters had been injured and more than 35,000 structures were threatened, including single and multi-family homes and commercial buildings. 

Thunderstorms expected later in the day could make it even more challenging to rein in the fire.

'Afternoon thunderstorms could cause new ignitions and potentially influence activity around the fire perimeter,' state firefighters said in a Sunday morning update. 'Hot and dry conditions mixed with thunderstorms are expected to challenge firefighters for the next few days.'

Smoke already blanketed downtown San Bernardino, where Joe Franco, a worker at Noah's Restaurant, said his friends in the surrounding evacuation zones were gearing up to leave at a moment's notice.

'They're just kind of hanging on tight and getting their stuff ready to move,' Franco said. 'Normally they're here, but a lot of people are not coming today.'

Redlands Unified School District cancelled Monday classes for roughly 20,000 students, and Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for San Bernardino County.

Meanwhile, a small vegetation fire, less than a square mile (2.6 square kilometers), burned at least 30 homes and commercial buildings and destroyed 40 to 50 vehicles Sunday afternoon in Clearlake City, 110 miles (117 kilometers) north of San Francisco, officials said. 

Roughly 4,000 people were forced to evacuate by the Boyles Fire, which was about 10 percent contained Monday morning.