Homes have been lost and many remain threatened by the Mountain Fire in Ventura County.
Gusty winds are set to continue through much of Thursday, which have been hampering fire-fighting efforts.
However, they are expected to ease somewhat on Thursday, however Red Flag conditions (high winds, low humidity) are expected to continue through Friday, November 8th in most areas.
Air tankers were able to be deployed to make drops by around 1pm on Thursday.
At 8.38am on Thursday, the fire perimeter size was updated to 14,500 after growing rapidly from around 250 acres 24 hours earlier.
By 11.46am, the size of the fire was estimated as having grown to 19, 643 acres. At around 4.15pm, the size was updated to 20,484 acres.
At least 800 firefighters from the Ventura County Fire Department and numerous other agencies remain on the scene.
The fire began in the Somis area on Wednesday morning and was driven by strong winds into the Camarillo Heights and the Camarillo Estates areas, where numerous homes were damaged or destroyed.
The fire remains active on the northeast portion of the fire, moving downslope towards the Santa Clara River.
Numerous evacuation orders remain in effect and will continue through Thursday.
Personnel from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office are working closely with the incident management team to ensure a timely repopulation of evacuated areas when it is safe to do so.
Personnel from Ventura County Sheriff’s Emergency Services will be working throughout the day to conduct damage assessment, ultimately working to start the recovery process and secure state and federal assistance.
Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff issued a Local Emergency Proclamation and requested California Governor Gavin Newsom proclaim a State of Emergency for the areas impacted. Emergency proclamations would allow access to state and federal assistance programs for both fire suppression efforts and assisting residents.
The following EVACUATION ORDERS are in effect:
- Zone 1 – North of Somis: areas north of East Los Angeles Avenue/Hwy 118, west of Balcom Canyon Road, and east of La Vista Avenue
- Zone 2 – Saticoy Country Club: east of Los Angeles Ave/Hwy 118, and south of the Santa Clara River and north of Beardsley Road
- Zone 3 – Areas south of Hwy 118, west of N. Lewis Road, north of North Loop Drive and Mission Drive, and east of Fairway Drive
- Zone 4 – West Camarillo (Las Posas/Spanish Hills areas): north of Las Posas Road, south and east of Central Avenue and Beardsley Road, and west of Anacapa Drive
- Zone 6 – The area extending south of Santa Clara River, east of Los Angeles Avenue, north of Saticoy County Club, and west of Briggs Road
Zone 8 – An area extending south of South Mountain Road, east of Briggs Road, and west of 12th Street and Bixby Road
- Zone 9- The area east of Santa Paula Community Golf Course, north along Santa Clara River, west of South Mountain Road at Sespe Street, south to Bixby Road
- Zone 10 – An area extending east of 12th Street to Willard Road, south of HWY 126 along Santa Clara River
- Zone 11 - South of the Santa Clara River, north of the ridge bottom of South Mountain at the rock quarry, west of Grimes Canyon Road, east of San Cayetano Street
- Zone 12 - The area north of Los Angeles Avenue, west of Grimes Canyon Road, east of San Caytano Street, south of the ridge bottom of South Mountain at the rock quarry
- Unincorporated Somis - West to: Saticoy Country Club, East to Balcom Canyon Road, South to Highway 118
There is an evacuation warning for:
- Zone 7 – The area north of Hwy 101 and south and east of Beardsley Avenue, and south of Central Avenue.
An evacuation center has been set up at Padre Serra Parish, 5205 Upland Road, Camarillo, CA 93012.
The auditorium of the community center at 530 W Main Street, Santa Paula, has been set up as a temporary evacuation point.
The evacuation center which has been established for large animals at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 E. Harbor Boulevard, Ventura, CA 93001 is now full. Santa Barbara Equine Evacuation Team is accepting large animals, located at Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara.
An evacuation center for small animals has been established at Ventura County Animal Services (Camarillo Airport), 600 Aviation Drive, Camarillo, 93010.
This is an on-going story and is being updated.
