MOORPARK, Calif. (AP) — California was lashed by powerful winds Wednesday that fed one fast-moving wildfire near multimillion-dollar properties along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu while hundreds of residents fled another fire farther north as forecasters warned of the potential for “extreme and life-threatening” blazes.
Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain the wildfire near Malibu's Broad Beach as authorities shut down the famous seaside roadway. Residents were urged to shelter in place while aircraft dropped water on the 50-acre (20-hectare) Broad Fire. It was 15% contained around 12:30 p.m. with forward progress stopped. Fire officials said two structures burned.
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In this aerial still image provided by KABC-TV, shows Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a small blaze fed by erratic wind gusts that pushed flames through dry brush near Broad Beach along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (KABC-TV via AP)
In this aerial still image provided by KABC-TV, shows Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a small blaze fed by erratic wind gusts that pushed flames through dry brush near Broad Beach along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (KABC-TV via AP)
Powerful winds and low humidity raise wildfire risk across California
Los Angeles city workers remove the remains of a fallen tree blown over by intense winds that crushed a fence in a city park on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Powerful winds and low humidity raise wildfire risk across California
Meanwhile, northwest of Los Angeles, the rapidly expanding Mountain Fire prompted evacuation orders for multiple communities in an agricultural area near Santa Paula in southern Ventura County.
Aerial video from KTLA-TV showed at least 10 homes in a Camarillo neighborhood burning around 1 p.m., while other footage captured horses trotting alongside evacuating vehicles and golf carts.
Gus Garcia, who owns a ranch south of the fire, said he's waiting to see whether conditions will change to decide if he should evacuate his horses and cattle. Around 12:30 p.m., his animals were still safe and he was trying to stay out of the way as others got their livestock out.
His ranch is surrounded by others with horses and alpaca, and Garcia said his neighbors in the canyon did not seem panicked.
"The horse community, they prepare for this because it’s always a possibility up here,” he said.
Andrew Dowd, a county fire spokesperson, said he did not have details of how many structures had been damaged.
“There are a number of homes that have been impacted by fire,” he said. “It’s a rapidly moving fire.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, in a statement posted to the social platform X, said multiple state agencies are “all in close communication to coordinate and support needs in Ventura County.”
Tens of thousands of people had their power shut off across the state as a precaution.
The National Weather Service office for Los Angeles amended its red flag warning for increased fire danger with a rare “particularly dangerous situation” label.
With predicted gusts between 50 miles (80 kph) and 100 mph (160 mph) and humidity levels as low as 8%, parts of Southern California could experience conditions ripe for “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior into Thursday, the weather service said.
Officials in several counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees amid the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds.
"Those in canyon, mountain, and foothill communities should be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice," the LA County Office of Emergency Management said on X. Some canyon roads were closed as a precaution and fire departments positioned resources in areas prone to fires.
The Mountain Fire was mapped at just under 250 acres (100 hectares) around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, and by 11:30 a.m. it was more than five times larger at over 2.3 square miles (6 square kilometers).
The extreme wind conditions grounded fixed-wing aircraft because of “very dangerous” conditions caused by gusts topping 61 mph (98 kph), said weather service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. He said pilots could face turbulence that could bring a plane down, as well limited visibility from the massive smoke plume.
Several people were injured and taken to hospitals, the Ventura County Fire Department said. However, it was not immediately clear how they got hurt. The blaze crossed State Route 118 and spread to the Camarillo Heights neighborhood, prompting additional evacuations.
To the south in Orange County, fire officials said ash and debris were being kicked up from the Airport Fire, which tore through the area earlier this year due to high winds, but no active fires were reported there Wednesday. Gusts whipped through coastal cities, bringing down tree branches and toppling large trash bins.
Forecasters also issued red flag warnings until Thursday from California's central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area and into counties to the north.
Sustained winds of 30 mph (48 kph) are expected in many areas, with possible gusts topping 55 mph (88 kph) along mountaintops, according to the weather service office in San Francisco.
More than 20,000 customers in 17 Northern California counties were without electricity Wednesday morning after Pacific Gas & Electric shut off power to prevent its equipment from sparking fires amid dry and windy conditions.
Southern California Edison also preemptively shut off power for more than 46,000 customers, including more than 12,000 in Los Angeles County on Wednesday. Power shutoffs are being considered for more than 200,000 customers due to the risk, the company said on its website.
Utilities in California began powering down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger after a series of massive and deadly wildfires in recent years were sparked by electrical lines and other infrastructure.
The Broad Fire was burning in the same area where in 2018 the Woolsey Fire killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes. That blaze was sparked by Edison equipment that scorched dry grasslands and burned across the Santa Monica Mountains all the way to the Malibu coast.
Dazio and Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Ryan Pearson in Los Angeles, Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, and Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this report.
In this aerial still image provided by KABC-TV, shows Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a small blaze fed by erratic wind gusts that pushed flames through dry brush near Broad Beach along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (KABC-TV via AP)
In this aerial still image provided by KABC-TV, shows Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a small blaze fed by erratic wind gusts that pushed flames through dry brush near Broad Beach along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (KABC-TV via AP)
Powerful winds and low humidity raise wildfire risk across California
Los Angeles city workers remove the remains of a fallen tree blown over by intense winds that crushed a fence in a city park on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Powerful winds and low humidity raise wildfire risk across California
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks stormed to records as investors bet on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world. The S&P 500 jumped 2.5% Wednesday for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,500 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 3%. Big bank stocks led the way on expectations that Trump’s policies will lead to stronger economic growth and less regulation. Bitcoin also jumped to a record, while Treasury yields ran higher amid worries about bigger U.S. government borrowing and higher inflation. The U.S. dollar jumped against other currencies.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market, Elon Musk’s Tesla, banks and bitcoin are all storming higher Wednesday as investors bet on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and world. Among the losers the market sees: solar-power companies and potentially anyone worried about higher inflation.
The S&P 500 was jumping by 2.4% in afternoon trading and on track to top its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,438 points, or 3.4%, as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 2.8% higher.
The U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945. But Republican control could mean big shifts in the winners and losers underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean.
“The markets are scrambling to figure out what happens next, but for the time being, the market is pricing in a higher growth and higher inflation outlook,” Peter Esho of Esho Capital said.
Of course, how much change Trump will be able to effect will likely depend on whether his fellow Republicans win control of Congress, and that’s still to be determined. That could leave room for snaps back in some of Wednesday’s big knee-jerk movements.
Nevertheless, the market is cleaving between rather clear winners and losers following Trump’s dramatic win. Among them:
Bank stocks led the market higher, in part on hopes that a stronger economy would mean more customers getting loans and paying them back with interest. They also rallied on hopes for lighter regulation from a Republican White House, which could spur more mergers and buyouts where investment banks could earn fees. JPMorgan Chase rose 10.6%, and financial stocks in the S&P 500 had the biggest gain by far among the index’s 11 sectors.
Trump has pledged to make the country “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. The price of bitcoin hit an all-time high above $75,000, according to Coindesk, and was recently up 7.7% at roughly $75,466. Companies in the crypto industry also jumped, including trading platform Coinbase’s 32.1% leap.
Musk has become a close ally of Trump, exhorting the former president’s run. While Trump may end up hurting the electric-vehicle industry broadly by limiting government subsidies, analysts say Tesla could gain somewhat of an advantage by already being such a big player in the industry. Tesla revved 14.5% higher, while rival Rivian Automotive fell 8.4%.
The company behind Trump's Truth Social platform rose 3% after earlier jumping nearly 35%. It regularly trades more on Trump's popularity than on prospects for its profits. Its rise came even after it filed unaudited financial documents with regulators late Tuesday saying it lost $19.2 million during the latest quarter and that its sales weakened from a year earlier.
A Trump-led Washington could push for tougher enforcement of the nation's borders, which could mean more business for companies that work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. GEO Group, which runs ICE processing centers, jumped 37.9%.
Trump's America-First policies could help companies that focus on customers within the United States, rather than big multinationals who could be hurt by increased tariffs and protectionism. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks, which are seen as more domestically focused than the big stocks in the S&P 500, jumped 5.6%. That was more than double the S&P 500's gain.
Investors see Trump’s policies potentially leading to stronger economic growth, which helps push prices down for Treasurys and their yields up. Tax cuts under Trump could also further swell the U.S. government’s deficit, which would increase its borrowing needs and force yields even higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.44% from 4.29% late Tuesday, which is a major move for the bond market. It’s up substantially from August, when it was below 4%.
Investors also see Trump's policies likely adding to future inflation, particularly tariffs, which can add costs to U.S. households' bills.
“Trump keeps openly telling people that he will increase tariffs not just on China but with every trade partner," said Andrzej Skiba, head of BlueBay U.S. Fixed Income at RBC Global Asset Management. "We’re talking 10% tariffs across all global partners. This is a big deal because this could add 1% to inflation. If you add 1% to next year’s inflation numbers, we should say bye to rate cuts.”
A drop-off in immigration could also push companies to raise wages for workers faster, which in turn could put more upward pressure on inflation.
Much of Wall Street's run to records this year was built on expectations for coming cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve, now that inflation seems to be heading back down to its 2% target. Easier interest rates help to boost the economy, but they can also give inflation more fuel.
The Fed will announce its latest decision on interest rates on Thursday, where the expectation is still for a cut, according to data from CME Group. But traders are already paring back their forecasts for how many cuts the Fed will provide through the middle of next year.
Trump has vowed to sharply hike tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and other countries, raising worries about trade wars and disruptions to the global economy. A measure of the U.S. dollar's value against several major currencies climbed 1.6%, which means that those other currencies fell.
The euro sank 1.7%, the South Korean won fell 1.4% and the Mexican peso slipped a bit further against the dollar.
Trump is a fan of fossil fuels, encouraging production of oil and natural gas. His win sent solar stocks sharply lower, including a 8.7% fall for First Solar and 15.1% slide for Enphase Energy.
The only stock with a bigger loss in the S&P 500 was Super Micro Computer, which said its sales for the latest quarter could come in below its prior forecast. Its stock sank 21.5%.
AP Writers Zimo Zhong, Elaine Kurtenbah, Kirstin Grieshaber and Kelvin Chan contributed to this report.
Trader Michael Capolino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays results of the Presidential election, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays results of the Presidential election, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A man passes a video monitor on the side of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
The American flags hangs on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
Donald Trump appears on a television screen at the stock market in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
People pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A person walks past an electronic screen displaying the Hang Seng Index on the U.S. presidential election day in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Pedestrians walk past an electronic screen displaying the Hang Seng Index on the U.S. presidential election day in Hong Kong, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
Women pass by a display board showing Chinese stock market movements on the U.S. presidential election day, in Beijing, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
A currency trader stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Currency traders watch their computer monitors near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ), at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Currency traders watch their computer monitors near the screens showing the images of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index, second left, at a securities firm Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in Tokyo.(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
An electronic stock board shows Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Currency traders watch their computer monitors near the screens showing the images of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the images of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
