More fires and evacuations in weary California

Californian firefighters tackled fresh and fast-moving wildfires overnight Thursday, making headway against a number of major blazes that have forced mass evacuations and power cuts.

Three rapidly moving infernos broke out Thursday in the southern part of the state, burning several homes and forcing people to flee.

One -- the Hillside Fire -- was in San Bernardino, some 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, while the other -- the 46 Fire -- was in neighboring Riverside County.

The third -- dubbed the Maria Fire -- broke out late Thursday in Ventura County, threatening two small agricultural towns nearby, and forcing the evacuation of more than 7,000 people as it raged across 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares), according to Ventura County fire department.

Hundreds of firefighters backed by water-dropping helicopters were attacking blazes driven by record so-called Santa Ana winds that have prompted unprecedented warnings of "extremely critical" fire risk -- the most severe category.

"I was asleep and woke up at 2:00 am to a strong smell of smoke," said Matthew Valdivia, 35, as he stood in front of the remains of his home destroyed by the blaze in San Bernardino.

Valdivia told AFP he and his wife quickly woke their four kids up and alerted neighbors as the flames closed in.

"It's devastating," he said. "This was our first home ... I worked 72 hours a week just to live the American dream."