The Norte Fire burns 465 acres and homes in Orange County as Santa Ana winds drive evacuations in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano

The fire started in brush near Portico Del Norte shortly before midday, and by the time most Southern Californians were eating lunch it was running through the hills between San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano with houses in front of it.

The Orange County Fire Authority put the Norte Fire at 465 acres on Friday afternoon, as of October 16. Four homes off Via La Mirada in San Juan Capistrano were described by the authority as impacted, and television footage showed houses burning. Evacuation orders covered five zones, three in San Juan Capistrano and two in San Clemente, with warnings in the areas around them. Shelters opened at the community centres in both cities. Sheriff's deputies went door to door in the order zones telling people to leave.

Ten schools in the Capistrano Unified district sent pupils home early and cancelled afternoon sport and activities. The fire also cancelled one of the most watched high school football games of the California season, San Clemente against Mission Viejo, because players' families were among those evacuating. A separate brush fire closed lanes of Interstate 5 near San Onofre for a time.

The weather is the story underneath the fire. Santa Ana winds, the hot dry offshore flow that has driven most of Southern California's worst fire days, are peaking on Friday and stay elevated through Saturday before easing over the weekend. Gusts near the fire were reported at about 25 miles an hour, under heat advisories and red flag warnings across Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The Norte Fire is one of several burning at once, alongside fires in Malibu, near Camp Pendleton and in Azusa, which stretches the same crews and aircraft across a whole region at the moment the wind is strongest.

No injuries had been reported as of Friday afternoon, and the cause is under investigation. Fire officials said winds near the coast could begin to ease around 7 in the evening local time, which is when the first real chance to slow the fire is expected. Until then the orders stand, and the county is telling everyone not ordered out to stay clear of the area so crews can work. The picture with this story is an illustration of a California wildfire, not a photograph of the Norte Fire.