SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate Monday as a wind-driven wildfire threatened suburban homes in Southern California.
The Sandy Fire was reported around 10 a.m. in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
By mid-afternoon it had consumed more than 500 acres of dry brush and damaged at least one home, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
The flames were pushed by morning gusts that topped 30 mph but were subsiding later in the day, said according to fire department spokesperson Scott Dettorre…