A SUDDEN and violent wildfire that tore through a luxury enclave in California, the United States, destroying multi-million dollar houses in minutes was worsened by wind and the size of the properties, said officials.

The blaze, which erupted on Wednesday, grew to engulf the Laguna Niguel community, near Los Angeles.

Some 1,000 homes were evacuated as the fire flared to 80ha, destroying around 20 properties.

“When you take a look at the size of the houses, there is just so much combustible material that they burn fast” said Lisa Bartlett, supervisor of Orange County, in which the district lies.

“And then the wind starts and the flames can just leap from house to house,” she told the Los Angeles Times.

Orange County fire chief Brian Fennessy said the blaze is another sobering example of the vulnerability of the area, as it scrapes through a decades-long megadrought.

“It is sad to say that we are getting kind of used to this.

“The winds we experienced today are normal winds… We are seeing spread in ways we have not before. Fire is spreading very quickly into this very dry vegetation and taking off.”

Firefighters were working to douse the fire yesterday, which was still classed as uncontained.

The cause of the fire is unknown, but Southern California Edison said it has recorded “activity” in its power circuits at about the same time.

Wildfires are a natural phenomenon in the western US, but their frequency and ferocity have increased in recent years as the planet warms.

Human behaviour, including the unchecked burning of fossil fuels, is altering weather patterns, exacerbating droughts in some areas and generating unseasonal storms in others.

Average summer temperatures are 1.6°C higher in California now than at the end of the 19th century. – AFP, May 13, 2022.