The fire erupted in late afternoon in tinder-dry brush as temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees in the canyons and ridges northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Three homes were damaged although the extent of the damage wasn't immediately clear, Los Angeles County fire Capt. The fire may have started when a car hit a power pole and knocked down a power line, sparking flames in the tinder-dry brush, fire officials said. A handful of fires erupted in Calabasas and the neighboring West Hills area of Los Angeles but the West Hills blaze was quickly doused while other fires combined and grew to more than 200 acres in a matter of hours, fire officials said. At its peak, 50-foot-high flames raced along ridgelines and torched trees and brush very close to million-dollar Spanish-style homes below.

Source: ABC News June 05, 2016 04:30 UTC