U.S. News Wildfires Ravage Southern California (Photos) Nine blazes are threatening San Diego County amid a serious drought that has officials fearing a record fire season. See striking photos of the flames. Published May 15 2014 12:09PM EDT
The ruins of a home smoulder in the night after it was destroyed in the Poinsettia fire, one of nine wildfires fueled by wind and record temperatures that erupted in San Diego County throughout the day in Carlsbad, California.
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Flames spread at the Cocos fire in San Marcos.
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A house burns at the Cocos fire.
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Firefighters battle a blaze in San Marcos.
Sam Hodgson/Reuters
Residents looks at the burning remains of their home that was destroyed in the Poinsettia fire.
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After climbing a hillside to view the Poinsettia Fire, residents are evacuated by police as yet another wildfire near San Diego moves up a hillside near San Marcos.
Mike Blake/Reuters
Students from California State University, San Marcos, put out hot spots with fire extinguishers as firefighters battle a blaze.
Sam Hodgson/Reuters
Firefighters battle the fire in Carlsbad.
Sam Hodgson/Reuters
Firefighters in a helicopter drop water in Carlsbad. At least two structures burned to the ground and some 15,000 homes and businesses were told to evacuate on Wednesday as the wind-lashed wildfire roared out of control in the heart of a Southern California coastal community.
Sam Hodgson/Reuters
Residents watch as firefighters battle a blaze in San Marcos. California fire crews, helped by diminished overnight winds, made substantial headway by early Wednesday against a blaze that had prompted thousands of evacuations in and around San Diego for several hours while flames were at their peak.
Sam Hodgson / Reuters
Residents watch a fast-moving wildfire approach in San Marcos. More than 20 structures, including several homes, burned to the ground and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate.
Sandy Huffaker/Reuters A helicopter drops water on a wildfire in Fallbrook, California.
Sandy Huffaker / Reuters
A firefighter battles a wildfire in Fallbrook. The fire flared as California entered the height of wildfire season in the midst of one of the state’s worst droughts on record, setting the stage for what fire officials fear could be a particularly intense and dangerous year.
Sandy Huffaker/Reuters
Firefighters at work in Carlsbad.
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