Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Southern California Wildfire Destroys 132 Structures as Officials Look for Fierce Winds to Subside
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 weeks ago on
November 8, 2024

Firefighters battle a massive wildfire in Southern California as winds subside, offering hope for containment efforts.(AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

CAMARILLO — Southern California firefighters working to contain a wildfire that has destroyed 132 structures in two days could be assisted by a forecast of fierce wind gusts easing early Friday, officials said.

Mountain Fire Grows to 32 Square Miles

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.

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, which were mostly homes. 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.

Residents Return to Devastation

Joey Parish returned to the site of his former home of more than 20 years in Camarillo Heights. All that was left was part of the burned-out steel frame.

“It’s tough, it’s really tough to know how to process the emotions,” he told KNBC-TV on Thursday. He had evacuated with his wife and their cat. “Neither one of us has been able to cry yet,” he said.

“What I have on my back is what I came out with,” he said. “My cellphone, and not even a charger, and no toothbrush — nothing.”

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

Firefighters Focus on Protecting Homes

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.

Ariel Cohen, a National Weather Service’s meteorologist in Oxnard, said Santa Ana winds were subsiding in the lower elevations but remained gusty across the higher elevations Thursday evening.

The red flag warnings, indicating conditions for high fire danger, expired in the area except in the Santa Susana Mountains, where the warnings will expire by 11 a.m. Friday in the mountains. The Santa Anas are expected to return early-to-midweek next week, Cohen said.

An air quality alert for harmful fine particle 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.

History of Destructive Fires in the Region

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.

Power was shut off to nearly 70,000 customers in five counties over the heightened risk, Southern California Edison said Thursday. Company spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas 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.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria

DON'T MISS

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

DON'T MISS

UN Expert: Myanmar’s Desperate Military Ramps Up Attacks Including Beheadings, Rapes and Torture

DON'T MISS

Christine Pelosi Leads Charge to Ensure Every Vote Counts in Tight Duarte-Gray Race

DON'T MISS

Dolly Parton’s Wish? For Fresno County Children to Read

DON'T MISS

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

DON'T MISS

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

DON'T MISS

NBA Memo to Players Warns About Organized Home Break-Ins

DON'T MISS

Fresno School Employees Say District’s Job Shifts Endanger Kids and Staff

DON'T MISS

Assemblymember Arambula Says He’ll Run for Fresno City Council

UP NEXT

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

UP NEXT

UN Expert: Myanmar’s Desperate Military Ramps Up Attacks Including Beheadings, Rapes and Torture

UP NEXT

Christine Pelosi Leads Charge to Ensure Every Vote Counts in Tight Duarte-Gray Race

UP NEXT

Dolly Parton’s Wish? For Fresno County Children to Read

UP NEXT

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

UP NEXT

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

UP NEXT

NBA Memo to Players Warns About Organized Home Break-Ins

UP NEXT

Fresno School Employees Say District’s Job Shifts Endanger Kids and Staff

UP NEXT

Assemblymember Arambula Says He’ll Run for Fresno City Council

UP NEXT

Business, Environmental Interests Oppose South Fresno Industrial Plan. What’s Next?

Christine Pelosi Leads Charge to Ensure Every Vote Counts in Tight Duarte-Gray Race

43 minutes ago

Dolly Parton’s Wish? For Fresno County Children to Read

1 hour ago

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

3 hours ago

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

3 hours ago

NBA Memo to Players Warns About Organized Home Break-Ins

3 hours ago

Fresno School Employees Say District’s Job Shifts Endanger Kids and Staff

3 hours ago

Assemblymember Arambula Says He’ll Run for Fresno City Council

4 hours ago

Business, Environmental Interests Oppose South Fresno Industrial Plan. What’s Next?

4 hours ago

Take a Bow, Bulldog Football Fans. Some Power 4 Schools Would Love to Have You.

5 hours ago

Community Hospital CEO Craig Castro Will Retire in Early 2025

6 hours ago

DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria

The proposed “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) by Donald Trump, to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has spark...

14 minutes ago

14 minutes ago

DOGE Is a Promising Step Toward Federal Efficiency: Fareed Zakaria

22 minutes ago

Listeria Outbreak Tied to Yu Shang Food Leaves California Infant Dead and 10 People Sick

37 minutes ago

UN Expert: Myanmar’s Desperate Military Ramps Up Attacks Including Beheadings, Rapes and Torture

43 minutes ago

Christine Pelosi Leads Charge to Ensure Every Vote Counts in Tight Duarte-Gray Race

1 hour ago

Dolly Parton’s Wish? For Fresno County Children to Read

Solomone Toki, 44, of the Bay Area, was found dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. (Fresno PD)
3 hours ago

Man Found Dead in Fresno’s Roeding Park Identified as Bay Area Resident

Fresno County authorities are searching for Ray Weston McCall Jr., 43, wanted on domestic violence charges, and caution the public not to approach him. (Fresno County SO)
3 hours ago

Fresno Authorities Search for Domestic Violence Suspect Considered Armed and Dangerous

3 hours ago

NBA Memo to Players Warns About Organized Home Break-Ins

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend