A rapidly spreading blaze in California is impacting communities in the Los Angeles area as thousands have been placed under evacuation orders, officials said.

A new wildfire ignited and spread rapidly in the mountains north of Los Angeles on Thursday, forcing thousands of evacuations. According to fire officials, the Canyon Fire began around 1:30 p.m. local time near Lake Piru and has since scorched more than 4,

The Canyon Fire ignited Thursday afternoon and grew to more than 7.6 square miles (19.7 square kilometers) by 11 p.m., according to the Ventura County Fire Department.