pSanta Ana winds whipped up several wildfires in southern California early this week, with the largest, the Thomas fire, scorching 50,000 acres in Ventura County and prompting hundreds of evacuations.ppThis footage shows the Rye fire burning near Valencia, California. The fire hit 5,000 acres by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, December 5, after starting at about 9:30am. Hundreds of homes were evacuated due to the blaze.