MORONGO VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- An 1,100-acre wildfire raced through this Mojave Desert community Wednesday afternoon, burning at least seven homes and threatening up to 700 more, authorities said.
Meanwhile, a second fire about 35 miles away burned 400 acres but was not threatening any structures, authorities said.
The Morongo Valley blaze began spreading just before 1 p.m. after a house caught fire, said Bill Peters, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in San Bernardino.
The flames were burning into an area about 100 miles east of downtown Los Angeles which includes about 2,000 scattered ranches and homes on acre lots, said Dave Dowling, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
''It's burning in and around them,'' Peters said, sending up flames up to 30 feet high.
''Because of the winter rains, we've had a grass crop out there this year,'' Dowling said. ''That's where we're having the trouble.''
Footage from television news helicopters showed flames burning in pockets through oak scrublands and high grass, yucca and desert sage. Weather helped the fire's spread _ sustained winds were around 10 mph and the afternoon temperature topped 100 degrees.
A voluntary evacuation was called. About 200 firefighters were on scene, one of whom suffered a minor knee injury, Peters said. They were supported by six airplanes and two helicopters.
Gene Rotstein, owner of Morongo Hardware, and his wife Leslie fled their home on Paradise Avenue.
Rotstein, 67, said he and his wife were ''bombed'' with fire retardant from helicopters as they scrambled to leave.
''The last I saw as I was evacuated, it was burning the house above mine, about 50 feet away,'' Rotstein said from his store, where he and his wife gathered with their dogs.
Sharon Aiken, 48, said parents came to evacuate children from her Sharon's Playhouse Child Care.
One parent couldn't get out of her house, because the fire was two blocks away, she said.
''The parents were all panicked, calling. I let them know that we were in no danger,'' Aiken said. ''But the wind is really whipping up here. ... In an hour's time, the fire moved fast.''
The fire was burning on both sides of state Highway 62, which was closed at both ends of unincorporated Morongo Valley, officials said.
By around 4 p.m., flames reached into Joshua Tree National Park, home to the famous spiky plants, some thousands of years old.
In neighboring Riverside County, a 400-acre fire was burning in the area of San Jacinto.
About 1,000 firefighters aided by aircraft and bulldozers were carving firelines and no homes were immediately threatened, said Cassandra Burleson of the Riverside County Fire Department-California Department of Forestry.
The fire began at 12:46 p.m. and no injuries were reported, Burleson said.
The fire was several miles from the reservation of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, said Joe Garcia, the tribe's environmental programs director.
''It's up on the hills, so you can see the flames,'' he said. ''We're waiting to see if it gets closer.''
Tribal workers were removing brush near reservation homes in case flames approached, he said.
