70,000 evacuate in the face of Southern California wildfire

High winds driving flames through Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Some 70,000 people in Orange County have evacuated ahead of a fast-moving wildfire.

The blaze broke out just before seven Monday morning in Orange County. Powerful winds drove the flames towards neighborhoods in Irvine. No word yet on any structural damage, but two firefighters got seriously injured fight back the blaze.

The fire comes just one day after Pacific Gas & Electric (PGE) cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers across the state to prevent utility equipment from sparking new blazes. California is extremely dry and fire danger is extremely high.

Winds are gusting up to 60 miles an hour in some places. Such high winds can, and do, knock down power lines, and send branches into wires, igniting wildfires.

So far this year, fires have blackened more than 4.3 million acres of land in California. It's been the worst fire season in state history.