Hot, windy weather stokes brush fires in Southern California; power turned off for many

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Several brush fires were burning in Southern California on Friday, stoked by hot, windy weather that's led to some evacuations and tens of thousands of people in the state waking up in the dark after their electricity was turned off.

A rapidly spreading blaze in Malibu, a coastal town west of Los Angeles, prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a large swathe of the Santa Monica Mountains. A large cloud of black smoke over the hilltops could be seen on nearby cameras and miles away. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph (48 kph) were reported early Friday and were forecast to increase, the National Weather Service said.

With humidity levels dropping, “this will favor a critical fire weather threat,” the service said early Friday.

More than 285 firefighters battled the Bryson Fire overnight, which grew to about 200 acres (81 hectares) and threatened a Los Angeles County juvenile detention and rehabilitative facility, which was evacuated Thursday night. Fire officials planned to give an update Friday morning.

Firefighters worked to contain two other fires that had sparked Thursday afternoon and triggered evacuation orders in the city of Azusa, north of LA, and Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.

More than 150,000 customers in northern, central and southern California were without electricity as of Friday, according to poweroutage.com.

Some of California’s worst wildfires have been sparked by power equipment, and utilities in recent years have begun proactively shutting off power during dry, windy weather in an effort to prevent blazes.

Weather conditions that increase the fire risk were expected to last through Saturday.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who faced criticism for her city's response to deadly fires in 2025, directed the fire department to deploy personnel and equipment ahead of the winds. The fire department also requested assistance from the state’s office of emergency services.

“It’s a pretty widespread event of elevated fire weather, so the whole SoCal region should really be on alert,” said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Dry, warm and gusty northeast winds known as Santa Anas, which blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore, were forecast, with the strongest winds expected through Friday afternoon.

The winds could reach 20 to 40 mph (32 to 64 kph), with gusts from 50 to 70 mph (80 to 113 kph), in the San Gabriel mountains in Los Angeles County and the Santa Susana mountains, which are mostly in Ventura County, Schoenfeld said. Elevated, though brief, critical fire weather conditions were also forecast for portions of the Santa Lucia mountains in San Luis Obispo County.

A wind-driven fire in Azusa burned over 40 acres (16 hectares) on Thursday and briefly prompted evacuation orders for a neighborhood in the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains. Forward progress on the blaze had been stopped by midafternoon.

Farther south, a fire at Camp Pendleton threatened buildings. Evacuation orders were issued in the Las Flores area of the military base and lifted by evening, military officials said in a statement.

In Northern California, some communities in the Sierra Nevada and its foothills began experiencing strong winds, high temperatures and low humidity Wednesday night.

The weather service issued a red flag warning for parts of central and Northern California through Friday morning, saying any fires would spread rapidly. Such warnings are issued when weather conditions create an increased risk of wildfires.

The potential interruption in electricity to customers from the Central Coast to the upper corners of the Sierra Nevada could last through Saturday afternoon, Pacific Gas and Electric Company said.

In Southern California, the Red Flag Warning for the mountainous areas in Ventura and Los Angeles counties was in effect through Friday night.

In January 2025, the Palisades Fire — fanned by Santa Ana winds — ripped through a hillside Los Angeles neighborhood, killing 12 people and destroying mansions with spectacular ocean views. Authorities determined the Palisades Fire was a carryover from another fire that authorities alleged was started intentionally by a 29-year-old man.

Another fire that burned at the same time in the city of Altadena, in Los Angeles County, killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and businesses. That fire was caused by sparks from an idle transmission tower owned by Southern California Edison, officials said.

Schoenfeld said the Santa Ana winds are not going to be as strong as during those fires, when they were gusting 60 to 100 mph (96 to 160 kph).

Jaimie Ding reported from Los Angeles.

The Bryson Fire illuminates a ridge top on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Crews make a stand in front of the Bryson Fire on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Crews make a stand in front of the Bryson Fire on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A tanker drops retardant on the Peak Fire Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Azusa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Hot spots glow across a hillside during the Bryson Fire in Malibu, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Kyle Cotner knew nothing about fall foliage when he trolled his White House colleagues in 2007, telling them he was an expert despite having grown up in Florida.

When autumn rolled around, he kept up the bit, sending out weekly newsletters with foliage statistics and information to a handful of co-workers. Today, he has mastered complex mapping systems, calls himself “Leaf Daddy” and owns The Foliage Report, a website that tracks fall color from coast to coast.

Thus, he was speaking with actual authority last week when he said 2026 has been a spectacular year for foliage in New England.

“I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years, and this is the best I’ve seen of New England in that time,” he said. “2020 was a very good year, but this one seems elite to me.”

New England had adequate rain through the spring and summer, plus warm days and cool nights heading into fall, but that wasn’t the case elsewhere, he said.

This story will be updated throughout the day to add new photos. See a curated photo gallery here. The Associated Press is carrying live views of foliage in Vermont, Michigan, Colorado and Washington today.

Extreme drought conditions stressed trees in Colorado, for example, leading to a quick and lackluster foliage season. Aspens in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho aren’t as golden this year, he said. But Utah is a bright spot.

“They got enough rainfall in that area,” he said. “You basically want an average amount of precipitation to really bring out the most majestic and colorful leaves.”

Fall foliage is all about trees preparing for winter, according to experts at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.

Leaves exist to provide food for the tree. They absorb sunlight through a green pigment called chlorophyll, and that energy is used to convert water and carbon dioxide from the air into glucose, a type of sugar. As days shorten, the tree stops making food, allowing orange and yellow pigments that have been there all along to be unmasked. When sunny days are followed by cold nights, sugars get trapped in leaves, producing red pigments.

Eventually, the layer of cells between a twig and a leaf weakens, allowing leaves to be blown down during wind and rain. The timing varies widely by location. According to Cotner’s research, foliage season starts in Alaska in mid-August and ends in Florida in late December. Hawaii is the only U.S. state without fall foliage, he said.

For Kirk Giglio, leaf peeping provides an escape from his day job as a nurse in a cardiac and stroke unit of a Connecticut hospital. A photographer who frequently chases storms as well, he is used to studying maps and forecasts, and was hopeful by early September that this would be a good year. A recent trip to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with his fiancee confirmed it.

“I was just really kind of blown away,” he said, describing sunrise hikes and fog lifting to reveal vibrant colors in New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch and elsewhere. Though some spots were packed with tourists, he still found plenty of secluded and stunning scenery.

“The more I travel, the more I realize how much we take for granted up here,” he said. “In a world that is so modern and gray with these corporate, soulless colors that we see everywhere, the trees are one of the last things that make color anymore, so it’s nice to just observe, especially in a good year like this.”

A few trees hold onto their fall foliage, the Talkeetna Mountains visible in the background, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, near Chickaloon, Alaska. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Water flows down the Big Poe Creek on an autumn day in Woodward, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Autumn leaves are seen along the Siglerville Millheim Pike near Milroy, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

People look at fall foliage from Loon Mountain in Lincoln, New Hampshire, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

White-barked aspen trees stand among yellow and orange fall foliage on the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff, Ariz., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Cheyanne Mumphrey)

A couple walks through colorful foliage after walking across a covered bridge spanning the Contoocook River, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Henniker, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Fresh fallen hardwood leaves cover the forest floor in Ghent, N. Y., Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Water flows down the Big Poe Creek on an autumn day in Woodward, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Water flows down the Contoocook River passing the colorful foliage of trees towards a covered bridge, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Henniker, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Colorful foliage adds to the view overlooking the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains at Olana, the former home of celebrated painter Frederic Church, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Hudson, N.Y. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)