CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings.

In the era when American cities regularly caught fire, the widespread destruction seeded what looks, in retrospect, like possibility.

Powerful winds and bone-dry conditions were expected to pose a challenge to firefighters battling new wildfires in southern California on Thursday, including a new blaze that swelled over the past day,