By Lizbeth Diaz
TIJUANA, Mexico, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Southern California's raging wildfires threatened to spread across the frontier with Mexico on Tuesday and small blazes broke out on parched Mexican ranches and along the border.
Firefighters in the border city of Tecate tried to control fires fanned by hot, dry Santa Ana winds that sent up black smoke and covered houses and cars with gray ash.
Several fires also burned on the outskirts of the Mexican city of Tijuana, just 20 miles (32 km) from San Diego.
Wildfires across Southern California burned for a third day, with 300,000 people in San Diego evacuated as flames destroyed 1,000 houses in San Diego County.
Tijuana remained virtually closed for a second day as ash from the California fires cloaked streets and residents walked around with paper masks over their mouths.
"We'll be in contact with our U.S. counterparts to deal with this, but for the time being we don't see the fires coming into Mexico," said Jose Luis Rosas of Mexico's Baja California state rescue agency.
Dozens of families were evacuated from their homes in Tecate and the winds knocked over power lines in poor neighborhoods of Tijuana, leaving thousands without electricity.
The world's busiest land border crossing between Tijuana and San Diego remained open.
Southern California is in the midst of its driest year on record after rainfall just a fifth of average levels, while rain has been equally scarce in northwestern Mexico.
