A wildfire northwest of Los Angeles burned out of control for a second day Thursday, November 7, after destroying dozens of homes, but officials said firefighters could get a break with fierce winds expected to subside by evening.
More than 10,000 residents remained under evacuation orders as the Mountain Fire continued to threaten some 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County. The blaze, which broke out around 9 am. Wednesday, had zero containment, and the cause was unknown.
County fire officials 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.
The National Weather Service said a red flag warning, which indicates conditions for high fire danger, would remain in effect until 6 pm. Winds were expected to decrease significantly but humidity levels will remain critically low, forecasters 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 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. By Thursday afternoon it was mapped at nearly 31 square miles (80 square kilometers) and Gov. Gavin Newsom had proclaimed a state of emergency in the county.
The Ventura County Office of Education announced that more than a dozen school districts and campuses in the county were closed Thursday, and a few were expected to be closed Friday. Two people suffered apparent smoke inhalation and were taken to hospitals Wednesday, fire officials said. No firefighters reported significant injuries.
Utilities in California 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.
Power was shut off to nearly 70,000 customers in five counties over the heightened risk, Southern California Edison said Thursday. Gabriela Ornelas, a spokesperson for Edison, could not immediately answer whether power had been shut off in the area where the Mountain Fire was sparked.
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.