Homes evacuated as wildfires spread in the US

A wildfire roared across brush-covered hills in Los Angeles’ sprawling Griffith Park, triggering evacuations of homes and some of the city’s most famous landmarks.

A wall of flames raced across ridges and jumped fire lines last night as the fire drew closer to homes and the Griffith Observatory.

Hundreds of firefighters and five water-dropping helicopters rushed to Los Angeles’ landmark park – a mix of wilderness, cultural venues, horse and hiking trails and recreational facilities set on more than 4,000 acres on the hills between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.

Authorities called for a mandatory evacuation of homes that sit along the park’s southern edge as the fire burned out of control after dusk.

In southern parts of the US, fire crews were already dealing with wildfires.

More than 200 fires were burning across Florida yesterday when a huge blaze in Georgia moved towards the state line and a smaller fire crossed it.

Besides the sheer number of fires, high wind and tinder-dry conditions made it difficult to battle the Florida blazes, which had covered about 78 square miles, or 50,000 acres.

Authorities evacuated about 300 homes in north Florida yesterday and hundreds more residents were on evacuation standby. Governor Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency for Florida last week.

In southeastern Georgia, crews were battling two fires less than 10 miles apart - one that had blackened about 107,000 acres, or 167 square miles, and another that had covered 40,000 acres, or 62.5 square miles.