Several people have been injured and multiple homes burned after the Mountain Fire broke out Wednesday morning in Southern California’s Ventura County, authorities said.
1 priority here at Ventura County Fire, in running this incident, is life safety,” Dowd said.
At about 11 a.m., VCFD crews reported that the flames had jumped SR-118 and were moving into the Camarillo area, encroaching upon the Camarillo Heights area.
Homeowners with large pets were advised to drop their animals off at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, located at 10 E. Harbor Boulevard.
Small pets can be brought to the Ventura County Animal Services center at the Camarillo Airport, located at 600 Aviation Drive.
Authorities said that the Mountain Fire, which started Wednesday morning in Ventura County, Southern California, has burned several homes and injured several people.
At about 8:50 a.m., it began. A. The Ventura County Fire Department says it is located in the Moorpark area, close to the 7900 block of Balcom Canyon Road and Bradley Road on South Mountain. The size of the fire increased from 25 to 1,000 acres in just one hour.
by 2:40 p.m. A. revealed that it had burned over 10,400 acres with no containment.
Firefighter Andrew Dowd stated that firefighters were “focused on life-saving efforts as the wildfire tore through neighborhoods.”.
“Not at all. Life safety is the top priority for Ventura County Fire in handling this incident,” Dowd stated. We are also asking all locals in the impacted areas to make sure they are following evacuation instructions. Our No is that. 1 top priority. “,”.
Map and evacuation order list.
Red Flag alerts.
Locals run away.
power failures.
According to firefighters, multiple individuals were injured and had to be admitted to the hospital. The conditions of any of the victims were not immediately known.
at approximately eleven a.m. M. The fire had crossed SR-118 and was spreading into the Camarillo area, encroaching on the Camarillo Heights area, according to VCFD crews.
Hours after the fire began, aerial footage captured four separate houses burning in a Camarillo neighborhood close to Cabrillo Way and Highland Drive on Wednesday afternoon.
According to crews from the San Bernardino County Fire Department, a strike team was sent to the scene to help VCFD with the incident.
directives for evacuation.
Many residents of Camarillo, Somis, and the area around the Santa Clara River were given evacuation warnings and orders by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
Here is a map of evacuation orders in real time.
Padre Serra Parish, located at 5205 Upland Road in Camarillo, had an evacuation shelter available.
Large pet owners were instructed to drop off their animals at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 E. The Harbor Boulevard. The Ventura County Animal Services facility at the Camarillo Airport, 600 Aviation Drive, is open to small pets.
According to the VCFD, hard road closures were implemented at SR-118 at Tierra Rejada and Wells Road, as well as at Stockton’s Balcom Canyon Road and Lewis’s Las Posas. They also shut down N at noon. Lewis Boulevard.
It was recommended that drivers on SR-118 and SR-23 remain alert and watch for emergency vehicles approaching the fire.
“The largest obstacle we face is dot. Oxnard Fire Department Captain: “We have horses coming down the roads.”. Numerous people did not evacuate early on the dot. There was heavy traffic in our path. “.
Following power outages brought on by the fire, Chaparral Middle School and Campus Canyon College Prep Academy were forced to close. There was no danger to the students.
Officials from the Pleasant Valley School District evacuated the campus of Camarillo Heights Elementary School “because of the wind event and associated fires in nearby communities.”. If no one was picked up, a bus took them to Monte Vista Middle School.
Strong winds are stoking fires.
The National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings due to the fire, which occurred while severe winds were pounding much of Southern California. They issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” alert in this case due to the threat posed by “an ongoing or imminent fire weather pattern.”. “..”.
During the fire, meteorologists recorded gusts of wind exceeding sixty miles per hour.
A further obstacle to complete containment, according to VCFD, was the strong winds that forced firefighting fixed-wing aircraft to ground.
VCFD Captain Anthony McHale told KCAL, “The fire is burning in what we call an intermix area, which is a mixture of wildland and lots of agriculture.”. “The intermix area contains a number of homes, ranches, and smaller neighborhoods, which poses significant difficulties for the boots on the ground. “.
According to him, because of the ever-changing flames, smoke, and ember fallout, wind-driven fires are among the most hazardous situations that firefighters encounter.
“That can pose difficulties, and naturally, those embers can travel great distances depending on wind patterns, igniting spot fires in structures and receptive fuel beds that may be nearby,” McHale stated.
Dr. John Fisher of Chapman University stated that the rapid rate of spread was caused by a combination of topography, wind conditions, and dry brush.
Fisher, a climate scientist, stated, “That fire will spread faster up just because fire moves upwards.”. This is much worse than it could have been if the winds had been calm and the vegetation had been wet. This is because of the topography, the wind, and the plants, as well as the near roads and private property. “.
while the cause is still being looked into. Fisher hypothesizes that it might be caused by humans.
It’s not even necessary for it to have a purpose. It might be the butt of a cigarette. According to Fisher, it might be a metal object on an automobile that ignites something.
He also discussed the reasons why this season’s wildfires have affected Southern California so severely.
For a variety of reasons, Fisher stated, “We’re seeing a lot more wildfires.”. We recently had a very rainy winter, which is also connected to climate change, in addition to the general aspect of climate change that things are getting hotter and drier. Consequently, a great deal of vegetation and plants were grown during this rainy winter, but they eventually dried out during the summer. “..”.
He claims that humans are a major factor in addition to the increased amount of fuel.
“There are more roads, more sparks, and as these fires spread, more threats to human life and property,” Fisher added, adding that more people are relocating to these areas.
Meanwhile, 50 acres of brush were being burned in Malibu by another brush fire, which had already damaged one house and destroyed another.
Citizens respond.
Because of the changing circumstances, which destroyed hundreds of acres of vegetation in a matter of hours, locals had to act quickly to leave their homes.
“This is unlike anything we have ever seen. Living next to the Spanish Hills, Ken Levin said, “I never imagined anything like this would happen to us.”. “However, the fire department is out there, destroying fire breaks on the rear of our property while the wind blows south. Thus, we are content with our current location. dots. I believe we will be alright. We give thanks to God for our firefighters, who are always available to assist us. “.
Jeff Nguyen of KCAL News spoke with Levin, whose wife had already left, as he was leaving when he noticed the flames beginning to tear across the hillside.
He pointed to his house and said, “Oh my God, my house is in danger,” but he was still alive. My wife is still living. This is replaceable, and we have everything we need. “.
He claimed that he has “never experienced wind like this” in all the years he has lived in the area. “.”.
at approximately 1 p.m. m. Governor of California. State officials were on their way to the fire due to the “severe threat” to Camarillo Heights, according to a post made by Gavin Newsom on X. Additionally, he stated that representatives from the California Office of Emergency Services and Cal Fire were coordinating to give residents the assistance they needed.
Deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department hurried into what appeared to be an assisted living facility, escorting a number of wheelchair-bound residents to safety while massive smoke clouds surrounded them, according to startling footage taken at the scene.
There are blackouts.
Due to the increased risk of fire, SoCal Edison started to cut power to some customers during the Santa Ana wind event, which was expected to last all day.
as of 1 p.m. A. The Public Safety Power Shutoffs impacted over 23,300 SCE customers in Ventura County; this situation will only worsen as the fire continues to burn.
Public information officer Gabriela Ornelas of SCE stated, “They will be active during the wind event and once we see those wind conditions improve, we will start to work to reenergize customers.”.
Customers may see intermittent power restoration, according to Ornelas, as the winds are expected to persist into Thursday and into the evening.
“There is a chance that customers may regain power if there are lulls in the wind in specific communities or areas,” she stated. This wind event would only last for a short time. “.
According to Ornelas, outages are a recognized annoyance, but they are carried out with public safety in mind.
“As a last resort, we use public safety shutoffs to ensure public safety,” she stated.
Monte Vista and Las Posas Schools were also without power, and Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School was on a watch list for another outage.
