Winds whip up California fires, prompting evacuations

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Raked by ferocious Santa Ana winds, explosive wildfires northwest of Los Angeles and in the city’s foothills burned a psychiatric hospital and scores of homes Tuesday and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
One of the blazes broke out Monday in Ventura County and grew wildly to more than 70 square miles (180 square kilometers) in a matter of hours, county Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said. It was fanned by winds clocked at well over 60 mph (96 kph