A fast-moving wildfire erupted several miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in the San Diego area, blackening thousands of open acres as ground and airborne crews worked Friday to quell the flames amid arid and blustery Santa Ana conditions.

A wildfire in the hills near the U.S.-Mexico border exploded early Friday morning over thousands of acres, prompting evacuation orders throughout the Otay Wilderness Area and triggering school closures as well as likely power shutoffs for tens of thousands of people.