Alva Review-Courier -

FALLBROOK, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters in Southern California were on high alert for dangerous fire potential even before the first blazes broke out.

But once flames met ferocious winds, fire crews were mostly powerless to stop infernos that destroyed more than 750 buildings, killed dozens of horses and forced hundreds of thousands of people to run from six out-of-control fires that have burned over 270 square miles (700 square kilometers) since Monday.

"The crews were trying to stay out ahead of this as quickly as they could," said Capt. Kendal Bortisser of the California Department of Forestr...