Mountain Fire in Ventura County burns 14,000 acres, thousands flee their homes in California
Driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, the Mountain Fire in Ventura County forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate from their homes as it exploded by thousands of acres within hours, injuring people and destroying homes in its path.
Within five hours, the wildfire grew to more than 10,000 acres before spreading to over 14,000 acres by 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said. It first sparked at about 8:50 a.m. on South Mountain in the Moorpark area, near the 7900 block of Balcom Canyon Road and Bradley Road, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
The Mountain Fire raged over Wednesday night, burning more than 14,000 acres as it remained at 0% containment.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said more than 10,000 were forced to evacuate as the blaze threatened 3,500 homes, businesses and other structures. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued funding to aid in the firefighting efforts, he said.
By Thursday morning, about a day later, the wildfire remained at 0% containment. However, authorities estimated the blaze to be 14,500 acres by that time — not changing much in size overnight as it stood at nearly 14,200 acres at 10:30 pm. Wednesday.
Ventura County authorities are expected to give an update on firefighting efforts during a 10 a.m. news conference Thursday.
Firefighters said multiple people suffered injuries requiring hospitalization. At an overnight shelter in Camarillo, an American Red Cross spokesman said nurses at the shelter treated people with scrapes and minor burns they sustained while trying to escape the flames. The shelter provided families forced to flee their homes with beds and beds as they remained evacuated overnight.
Several evacuees have spoken about trying to help friends , family members and neighbors flee as the spreading blaze as it tore through areas of Camarillo, Moorpark and Somis. Dozens of schools announced closures , thousands faced power shutoffs and the city of Ventura asked residents to limit their water use so firefighters have enough to battle the blaze.
About 800 firefighters are battling the blaze as Ventura County fire officials have said they focused on life-saving efforts.
"Our No. 1 priority here at Ventura County Fire, in running this incident, is life safety," said firefighter and Ventura County Fire spokesperson Andrew Dowd. "And we're urging all residents that are in the affected areas to make sure that they're heeding evacuation orders. That's our No. 1 priority."
Wind gusts in the Mountain Fire area reached 39 mph in both Moorpark and Simi Valley around Thursday morning, with a high wind warning expected to stay in effect until 4 p.m., when winds are forecasted to die down to about 15 mph.
Evacuation orders
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office issued evacuation orders for thousands of residents in Camarillo, Somis and near the Santa Clara River. As the blaze continued to burn in a southerly direction Thursday morning, evacuation orders in the Camarillo area, including near the Las Posas Country Club and Sterling Hills Golf Club, were in place given the fire's path.
"All evacuation orders and warnings remain in place due to the extreme fire danger," fire officials said a Thursday morning update .
A real-time map of evacuation orders can be found here .
Authorities established an evacuation center at Padre Serra Parish , located at 5205 Upland Road in Camarillo.
Homeowners with large pets were advised to drop their animals off at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, located at 10 E. Harbor Boulevard while small pets can be brought to Ventura County Animal Services center at the Camarillo Airport, located at 600 Aviation Drive.
On Thursday, road closures remained in place at the following locations.
School closures
Dozens of Ventura County schools closed due to the Mountain Fire, some campuses closing because of poor air quality due to the massive wildfire and some due to power shutoffs issued by utilities trying to avoid further wildfire risks.
Some schools are taking precautions such as keeping students indoors at campuses that remain open but are seeing widespread smoke and ash in the air .
"Our hearts break for our Camarillo families that have lost their homes," the Pleasant Valley School District said while announcing closures. "We know that our students have been impacted by the events of the day. When we return to school, all schools will have plans to support the mental health needs of our students."
A full list of school closures can be found here .
Powerful Santa Ana winds fuel flames
The fire comes in the midst of severe winds battering much of Southern California, which prompted National Weather Service officials to issue Red Flag Warnings . In this particular instance, they issued a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" alert , a rare weather advisory that forecasters say is issued only once every few years due to particularly severe conditions.
Meteorologists tracked some gusts of wind that reached more than 60 miles per hour as the fire burned Wednesday. Winds have subsided Thursday, with gusts in the area expected to be around 30 miles per hour until around noon, when they are expected to lessen.
Within hours of the fire first starting, the strong winds grounded firefighting fixed-wing aircraft, adding another hurdle toward full containment, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
According to climate scientist Dr. Josh Fisher from Chapman University, many factors came together to result in the wildfire moving quickly as it tore up hillsides, moving upwards as it burned through Ventura County neighborhoods.
"That fire will spread faster up just because fire moves upwards," Fisher said. "So, we've got these conditions of the topography, the wind and the plants — and also close to roads and human property — all just kind of coming together to make this a lot worse than it could've been if the winds were calm, the vegetation was wet."
While cause of the fire remains under investigation, authorities said.
Residents react
With the dynamic situation, quickly decimating hundreds of acres of vegetation in just hours, residents were forced to jump into action to evacuate their homes.
"We've never seen anything like this before. Never thought anything like this would happen to us," said Ken Levin, who lives in a home adjacent to the Spanish Hills area. "But fire department is out there, they're bulldozing fire breaks on the back of our property and the wind is going south. So, we feel good about where we are. ... I think we're gonna be okay."
"Thank God for our firefighters that are here to help us when we need it," he said.
