Twin wildfires in mountain foothills near Los Angeles scorched more than 20 square kilometres and sent hundreds fleeing their homes Tuesday, authorities said, according to dpa. The fires burning in the Angeles National Forest, 40 kilometres east of Los Angeles, began late Monday and had by Tuesday grown to raging blazes that threatened hundreds of homes. At least 750 people evacuated the area, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Azusa and Duarte fires, named for the towns where they started, were separated only by a few kilometers of rugged terrain and threatened to meld into one giant blaze amid hot, windy weather, authorities said. The blazes were the latest in a spate of wildfires that have burned more than 80 square kilometers in southern California in recent days.
