Winds Fueling Southern California’s Mountain Fire Expected to Calm

Firefighters fighting a destructive wildfire in Southern California will catch a break from the strong winds that have been fueling its growth, according to fire officials’ report on Nov. 7.

The Mountain Fire had consumed over 20,000 acres, equivalent to about 31 square miles, by Thursday evening, with only 5 percent containment, after ravaging Camarillo Heights, located about 55 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and destroying over a hundred homes.

“It’s been a long 26 hours since this incident began, and it remains dynamic,” said Ventura County Fire Department Chief Dustin Gardner during a press conference on Thursday morning. “It remains dangerous. To our community members impacted by this fire, our hearts go out to you. You are our families, you are our communities.”

The fierce winds fueling the fire were anticipated to calm down by 6 p.m. on Thursday, as stated by Rich Thompson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard near Los Angeles.

The weather service was planning to lift the red flag warning by Thursday night. The area is expected to experience higher humidity with a minor chance of light rain early the following week, according to Thompson.

Ventura County has summoned every available mutual air resource to aid in extinguishing the fire, Gardner mentioned. Firefighters from various parts of California were scheduled to battle the blaze through the night, assisted by firefighting aircraft and helicopters.

Related Stories

By Thursday evening, 34 fire crews and almost 400 fire engines had been assigned to the fire, with over 2,400 fire personnel working tirelessly to contain the blaze.

Water pressure issues were reported Wednesday night at higher altitudes in the Camarillo Heights and Las Posas Estates neighborhoods in Camarillo, Gardner noted.

Fire engines were connected to every available fire hydrant, pumping water ceaselessly throughout the night. The water demand overwhelmed the system, according to Gardner.

“We ran out of water higher up in the [Camarillo] Heights,” Gardner admitted. “It was true.”

Nevertheless, the department was prepared for such a scenario and successfully transported water to the area to continue battling the flames.

Since the fire ignited shortly before 9 a.m. on Wednesday, approximately 14,000 people have been instructed to evacuate, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff reported. Eleven zones in Camarillo and the neighboring region were evacuated, he added.

As of Thursday evening, there were ten confirmed injuries related to the fire, primarily due to smoke inhalation.

The sheriff was uncertain about the timeline for residents to return home, but assured that officials were working diligently to facilitate the process.

“We will repopulate as soon as possible,“ Fryhoff said, ”but we have not begun that process yet. This is still a very active fire, and very unpredictable.”

A large animal shelter was opened at the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura, with a small-animal evacuation center located at the Ventura County Animal Services facility at the Camarillo Airport.

Several new neighborhoods were evacuated on Wednesday night, particularly in the Santa Paula area, as per the sheriff’s statement.

Resident Alexis Cano mentioned that she left her home in the Santa Paula area on Wednesday night, despite lacking an evacuation order.

“We saw it gradually approaching with the Santa Ana winds,” Cano shared with The Epoch Times.

Cano observed firefighters waiting for the flames to reach a specific point on the mountain behind her residence. She expressed concerns about the fire potentially spreading to the banks of the nearby Santa Clara river.

Cano and her children stayed at her mother’s house, monitoring the fire all night, before returning home on Thursday, she disclosed.

“Our hearts go out to those individuals directly in the line of fire,” she conveyed. “It’s different to watch from where we were but still… It’s so sad.”

Fire crews were working diligently to contain the fire south of South Mountain Road, parallel to the Santa Clara River, the fire chief stated.

Emergency responders continued to prioritize life-saving efforts and property protection on Thursday, Ventura County Fire Division Chief Jeff Shea clarified.

Fire investigators were still investigating the cause of the fire at the intersection of Balcom Canyon and Bradley roads in the Somis community.

The region was under an extreme fire danger warning on Wednesday due to Santa Ana winds exceeding 65 miles per hour, feeding the fast-moving flames in dry grass. The area also experienced low humidity levels.

Following the Wednesday morning ignition, the winds caused the fire to rapidly expand, crossing highway 118 into Camarillo Heights and spreading west, north, and south into Camarillo Estates.

Several residences fell victim to the fire, with ten damage inspection teams dispatched on Thursday to survey every street and property, in order to ascertain the extent of destruction, as per Ventura County Fire Department Spokesman Andy VanSciver.

“This is a challenging fire,” VanSciver noted during an afternoon press conference on Thursday. “This is going to take some time. We want to do it right the first time and make notifications to the property owners that their property has been damaged or destroyed.”

As of now, the inspection teams have completed 298 inspections, revealing 132 homes that were destroyed, VanSciver disclosed.

As reported by county officials, approximately 31,200 electrical customers in Ventura County were left without power on Thursday morning. Southern California Edison established centers in Moorpark, Simi, and Ventura to provide assistance to the affected customers.