Wildfires in southern California have destroyed 132 structures, mostly homes, in less than two days, fire officials said Thursday, and the fierce winds are expected to subside.
The fire broke out Wednesday morning in Ventura County and has grown to approximately 32 square miles with a 5% containment rate. The cause has not been determined.
Ventura County Sheriff James Freihoff said 10 people were injured in the fire. Most of them suffered smoke inhalation or other non-life-threatening injuries.
Fire officials said 88 other structures were damaged, but did not say whether they were destroyed by the fire or suffered water or smoke damage.
About 10,000 people remained under evacuation orders Thursday as wildfires continued to threaten about 3,500 structures in suburban, ranch and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County.
County fire officials said crews, assisted by water cannon helicopters, were working in steep terrain to destroy homes on hillsides along the northeastern edge of the fire near the city of Santa Paula, which has a population of more than 30,000. It is said that they are concentrating on the protection of
Kelly Barton watched as firefighters combed through charred rubble at her parents' ranch of 20 years in the Camarillo Hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Workers found two safes and her parents' collection of vintage door knockers intact amidst the devastation.
“This was their forever retirement home,” Burton said Thursday. “Now that they’re in their 70s, they have to start over.”
When the father returned to the house an hour after evacuating on Wednesday, it was already destroyed. Barton said they were able to move four of their vintage cars to safety, but two of them, including the Chevrolet Nova they've owned since they were 18, were “scorched to the ground”. .
Officials in several Southern California counties urged residents to be on alert for the rapid spread of fires, power outages and downed trees from the recent infamous Santa Ana winds.
Santa Ana winds are dry, warm northeasterly winds that blow from inland Southern California toward the coast and offshore, in the opposite direction of the normal overland currents that bring moist air from the Pacific Ocean.
They usually occur during the fall and continue through the winter until early spring.
Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said Santa Ana's winds had eased at lower elevations Thursday night, but remained strong in higher elevations.
Cohen said red flag warnings, which indicate high fire risk conditions, have expired in the region except for the Santa Susana Mountains. The warning expires by 11 a.m. Friday in mountainous areas.
Cohen added that Santa Ana winds are expected to return early to mid-next week.
The Mountain Fire occurred in an area that has seen some of California's most destructive fires in many years.
The fire quickly grew from less than half a square mile to more than 16 square miles in just under five hours Wednesday.
By Thursday evening, the area was mapped to be about 32 square miles, and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the county.
Marcus Eriksen, who owns a farm in Santa Paula, said firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to his home, cars and other structures, even though piles of compost and wood chips were engulfed. spoke.
Ericksen said Thursday that the flames were up to 30 feet high and fast-moving.
Their speed and ferocity overwhelmed him, but the firefighters continued to fight to protect as much of his property as possible. Thanks to their work, “we successfully dodged a bullet,” he said.
Sharon Bogie said the fire started within 200 feet of her home in Santa Paula.
“I thought we were going to lose it at 7 o'clock this morning,” Bogey said Thursday as white smoke filled the neighborhood.
She initially fled with her two dogs, leaving her sister and nephew behind. After a few hours, things seemed to be getting better, she said.
The Ventura County Office of Education announced that more than a dozen school districts and campuses in the county were closed Thursday, with several districts and campuses scheduled to close on Friday.
After a spate of large and deadly wildfires caused by power lines and other infrastructure in recent years, California power companies are now shutting down equipment during times of high winds and extreme fire risk. I started.
Southern California Edison cuts power to nearly 70,000 customers in five counties due to heightened risk said on thursday.
Edison spokeswoman Gabriela Ornelas could not immediately say whether power had been cut off in areas affected by the wildfires.
The wildfires are similar to other recent outbreaks, 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 1,000 buildings in Ventura and elsewhere. A destructive inferno burned in the same area. Santa Barbara County.
Southern California Edison paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both fires.
