New wildfires flare up in Southern California

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Due to high winds and rising temperatures, several new wildfire flared up across Southern California, threatening households and public security, authorities said on Wednesday.

Among the fires, the so-called Guiberson fire in Ventura County near Los Angeles is the biggest. It has prompted the closures of two elementary schools and a community college, said Mike Mohler, a spokesman for California Fire Department.

The Guiberson fire is expected to grow to more than 10,000 acres (4,050 hectares) later Wednesday due to low humidity and strong winds, said Mohler.

After breaking out on Tuesday, the first day of autumn, the Guiberson fire spread quickly, fanned by the Santa Ana winds. The winds are expected to blow up again from 12 mph to 22 mph in about an hour later on Wednesday.

"We're preparing for almost an exact repeat of what we saw yesterday," said Steve Kaufman, a public information officer with the Ventura County Fire Department.

Firefighters are expecting temperatures around the 100-degree mark on Wednesday as they continue to beef up efforts to control the blaze, which is 10 percent contained, Kaufman said. About 600 firefighters are battling the blaze.

Three firefighters were injured Tuesday night. One firefighter suffered from heat exhaustion, another had an ankle injury and the third suffered from smoke inhalation, Kaufman said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Ventura County Sheriff's Department officials have said it appeared to have been started by spontaneous combustion of manure from a local ranch.

Voluntary-evacuation warnings have been issued for a few neighborhoods in Ventura County. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the county.

Also on Wednesday, firefighters will work in torrid heat as they struggle to complete the containment line around the 250-square mile (400-square-kilometer) Station fire, which was set by an arsonist exactly one month ago.

The was 94 percent contained as of Wednesday but more than 800 firefighters remained assigned to fight it. Full containment has been pushed back several times since its original target date of Sept. 15 and is now projected for midnight Thursday.