Fast-spreading wildfire north of Los Angeles prompts evacuations

Firefighters struggled on Sunday to contain a fast-spreading wildfire that has killed at least one person, destroyed 18 homes and forced hundreds of evacuations in the drought-stricken canyons north of Los Angeles, officials said. It is threatening a string of small communities near Santa Clarita, just outside the sprawling Angeles National Forest, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. First reported on Friday afternoon, the blaze has forced at least 1,500 residents to evacuate their homes and at least 18 homes have been destroyed, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in a statement.