By Jorge Garcia and Andrew Hay WRIGHTWOOD, California (Reuters) -Three Southern California wildfires torched dozens of mountain homes, tore through a ski resort and forced thousands to evacuate in towns and cities east of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season but already has seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023.

Devastating wildfires are sweeping across Southern California hillsides. They have torched vehicles, burned buildings and injured more than a dozen people.