Roughly 1,000 people abandoned 400 California homes today as firefighters battled a blaze in the Sierra Madre foothills, the Los Angeles Times reports. The fire spread through some 400 acres, and containment is not expected for days. Record-setting temperatures are to blame for the blaze marking an early start of the fire season. "This is not a lazy fire," a fire chief said. "This fire is burning with some energy." (More California stories.)