Fires continue to rage in Southern California

More than 80,000 people faced evacuation orders around Irvine, Lake Forest, and Yorba Linda, Calif., on Tuesday. Strong wind whipped up two fires near residential areas south of Los Angeles. Southern California Edison utility told regulators it was investigating whether its equipment sparked one of the fires. The Silverado Fire has burned more than 13,000 acres and is 5 percent contained, while the Blue Ridge Fire has burned about 14,000 acres and was still out of control on Tuesday evening, according to Cal Fire.

Will it let up soon? The National Weather Service expects calmer weather on Wednesday and the rest of the week. Forecasts predict the warm, dry weather will continue into November without any chance of rain. In Northern California, Pacific Gas & Electric restored power to about 1 million people as winds began to die down, lessening the fire risk.

Dig deeper: Read Julie Borg’s report about forest management policies that could be exacerbating the wildfires out West.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.