Some 25,000 residents flee wildfire in southern California

LOS ANGELES - About 25,000 residents have been evacuated due to a wind-driven wildfire occurring near Irvine City in southern California, local fire-fighting authorities said on Friday.

Currently, some evacuation orders have been lifted by Friday morning as winds are expected to decrease through the weekend, the Orange County Fire Authority said in Twitter.

Meanwhile, two firefighters were injuried on Thursday as they fought the wildfire, but currently have been released from the hospital, it said.

The fire, dubbed Bond Fire, erupted at around 10:15 p.m. local time Wednesday (0615 GMT Thursday) at a house, and then continued to grow throughout the night as gusty Santa Ana winds spread the flames.

About 500 firefighters, backed by helicopters, have been sent there to battle the blaze.

The strongest winds were forecast to last into Saturday. Utilities in the populous region began cutting power Wednesday to customers as a precaution to prevent more wildfires.

The fire was about 10 percent contained on Friday afternoon and has charred an area of 6,400 acres, local reports said.