VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – A fast-moving brush fire broke out on Thursday around Lake Piru in Ventura County, prompting evacuations as dry conditions increase the wildfire risk across Southern California .

The blaze, initially identified as the "Canyon Fire," grew to at least 600 acres during the initial hours of the firefight, with hundreds of crews working both on the ground and in the air to try to contain the flames.

Most of the evacuations were centered between Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge and Interstate 5 – not far from Santa Clarita and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

The Canyon Fire is one of at least four wildfires burning across Southern California amid a summer heat wave that pushed temperatures in excess of 90 degrees.

Firefighters said temperatures near 100 degrees, wi

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