Fire burns brush on a hillside during the so-called Sand Fire in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 24, 2016. Thousands of firefighters battle fast-spreading wildfire near Los AngelesMore than 1,600 firefighters battled on Monday to contain a fast-spreading wildfire that has forced hundreds of evacuations in the drought-parched canyons north of Los Angeles, destroying 18 homes, killing at least one person and closing a highway. It was threatening a string of small communities near Santa Clarita, just outside the Angeles National Forest, the Los Angeles county sheriff's department said. All the affected communities, about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Los Angeles, are in or around the San Gabriel Mountains, which is dotted with multimillion-dollar homes. The fire near Santa Clarita, first reported on Friday afternoon, has forced at least 1,500 residents to evacuate their homes and destroyed at least 18 homes, the Los Angeles county fire department said in a statement.

Source: VietNamNet News July 25, 2016 10:41 UTC