Wildfires force new evacuations near Los Angeles
Arson investigation launched into Santa Clarita blaze
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 CNN's Donna Tetreault reports on new evacuations in California.
 Firefighters in Nevada are cautiously optimistic.
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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Sizzling heat and shifting winds hindered firefighters trying to contain a wildfire moving across the Santa Clarita foothills northwest of Los Angeles on Sunday, prompting authorities to order hundreds of residents to evacuate.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Dennis Cross said authorities have launched an arson investigation, though it is unclear whether the blaze was set accidentally or intentionally.
Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders Sunday afternoon that affected more than 100 homes in the Placerita Canyon, Fair Oaks and Sand Canyon areas.
Residents in some of those areas had been allowed to return to their homes after an evacuation Saturday.
But changing weather conditions Sunday afternoon prompted officials to again tell people to leave, said Jerry Fernandez of the California Department of Forestry.
More than 1,000 firefighters tackled the 4,200-acre blaze about 20 miles northwest of Los Angeles, which was reported Saturday morning.
"We've had some strong winds [and] erratic wind shifts. We've had some spotting problems, which means that fire is throwing embers ahead of it due to the winds and starting fires ahead of it," Fernandez said. "Conditions are just not helping us right now."
Wind gusts had kicked up to more than 20 mph, Fernandez said. The temperature in the area was 96 degrees.
Parts of several highways were closed, including the northbound lanes of State Highway 14 between Interstate 5 and Placerita Canyon, south of Santa Clarita.
In Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, more than 900 firefighters battled the 3,200-acre Melton fire near Hemet, which was 25 percent contained by early afternoon, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
The fire, which prompted authorities to issue voluntary evacuations for about 2,000 people, was expected to be contained by Sunday night, according to fire officials.
Roads closed by the fire had been reopened, and area residents were being allowed to return to their homes.
Capt. Rick Vogt of the California Department of Forestry said that over the past eight days "we've had fires start almost every day in Southern California."
"Resources are getting stretched a little bit thin, and fatigue is certainly a factor," he said.
Meanwhile, cooperative winds and a little rain helped firefighters Sunday get a grip on two other wildfires that have scorched thousands of acres in California and Nevada.
Officials said the 16,800-acre Pine fire, about 30 miles north of Los Angeles in Angeles National Forest, was 70 percent contained, and the 7,500-acre Waterfall fire outside Carson City, Nevada, was 85 percent contained.
By Sunday morning, the Nevada fire had burned 46 structures, including 15 homes. Fire officials in Southern California said the Pine fire had destroyed three homes and five other buildings.
Last week, the Pine fire threatened a pair of mountain communities and crucial habitats of the endangered California condor and the spotted owl.
But the winds shifted Saturday, sparing the habitats and the Lake Hughes and Elizabeth Lake communities. From a maximum number of 2,000 firefighters Saturday, 1,700 remained on the scene Sunday.
CNN's Donna Tetreault and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
