Southern California firefighters make progress against wildfire as fierce winds start to subside

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By NOAH BERGER and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — Southern California firefighters made progress against a wildfire that has destroyed 132 structures, mostly homes, and that was fanned by fierce wind gusts that began easing Friday, allowing some people to return to sort through the charred remains of their homes.

Maryanne Belote returned to her hillside neighborhood in Camarillo, a city northwest of Los Angeles, after making a harrowing escape with her cat, her dog and her horses as the blaze raged in the area. The only thing standing was a rock wall she built.

"If I hadn't gotten the horses, I would have been devastated but I have my family and I have my animals so, I'm OK. I will rebuild," she said standing outside the remains of her home of 50 years while her dog stayed in her car.

The Mountain Fire started Wednesday morning in Ventura County and had grown to 32 square miles (about 83 square kilometers). It was 7% contained Friday morning.

Firefighters and sheriff's deputies push a vintage car away from a burning home as the Mountain Fire burns in Camarillo, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Horses gallop in an enclosure at Swanhill Farms as the Mountain Fire burns in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A helicopter drops water as the Mountain Fire burns along South Mountain Rd. on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A helicopter drops water while battling the Mountain Fire along Waters Road in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Jaime Hernandez sprays water to defend his home while battling approaching flames from the Mountain Fire near Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Hernandez has been staying behind to fight multiple wildfires since 1988. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Kelly Barton, left, is hugged by a family friend after arriving at her parents' fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of the Mountain Fire, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Todd Howard, left, sifts through the remains of his parents' fire-ravaged property with the help of firefighters after the Mountain Fire swept through, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A firefighter walks through smoke while battling the Mountain Fire on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Santa Paula, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Inmate firefighters battle the Mountain Fire at Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Flames from the Mountain Fire leap along a hillside as a horse stands in an enclosure at Swanhill Farms in Moorpark, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Some 10,000 people remained under evacuation orders Friday morning as the fire continued to threaten about 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County.

At least 88 additional structures were damaged in addition to the 132 destroyed. Officials did not specify whether they had been burned or affected by water or smoke damage. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Ten people suffered smoke inhalation or other non-life-threatening injuries, Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff said.

Crews working in steep terrain with support from water-dropping helicopters were focusing on protecting homes on hillsides along the fire's northeast edge near the city of Santa Paula, home to more than 30,000 people, county fire officials said.

Officials in several Southern California counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees during the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds .

Santa Anas are dry, warm and gusty northeast winds that blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore, moving in the opposite direction of the normal onshore flow that carries moist air from the Pacific. They typically occur during the fall months and continue through winter and into early spring.

The red flag warnings, indicating conditions for high fire danger, expired in most of the area Thursday, except in the Santa Susana Mountains where the warnings expired Friday morning when winds began diminishing.

The Santa Anas are expected to return early-to-midweek next week, said Ariel Cohen, a National Weather Service's meteorologist in Oxnard,

An air quality alert for harmful fine p pollution was in effect from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon due to smoke from the wildfires.

More than a dozen school districts and campuses in Ventura County were closed Friday due to impacts from the fires, according to the county's Office of Education.

The Mountain Fire was burning in a region that has seen some of California's most destructive fires over the years. The fire swiftly grew from less than half a square mile (about 1.2 square kilometers) to more than 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) in little more than five hours on Wednesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency in Ventura County.

California utilities began powering down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger after a series of massive and deadly wildfires in recent years were sparked by electrical lines and other infrastructure.

The wildfires burned in the same areas of other recent destructive infernos, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire , which killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes near Los Angeles, and the 2017 Thomas Fire, which burned more than a thousand homes and other structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison has paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both blazes.

Rodriguez reported from Los Angeles. Jaimie Ding and Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles, Ethan Swope in Camarillo, Eugene Garcia in Santa Paula and Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C., and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.

Originally Published: November 8, 2024 at 1:42 PM CST