Firefighters are getting the upper hand on Ventura County’s Mountain Fire, with containment now up to 48% on the 20,600 acre blaze.
They are in mopup mode, continuing to look for hot spots.
There had been concern about gusty wind in the fire zone Tuesday. Top wind speeds were in the 30 mile an hour range, and didn’t cause major problems.
While full containment may be days away still, about 500 of the 3000 firefighters assigned to the blaze at its peak have been released.
As survey crews continue to move through the burn zone, the number of structures destroyed or damaged continues to rise. It currently stands at 207 destroyed, and 90 damaged. There isn't a breakdown yet of how many of the structures are homes.
Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Garder spoke to Ventura County Supervisors Tuesday. He told them in the first hours of the fire, firefighters had to prioritize saying lives over homes.
“There were 30,000 people within the impacted area of this fire. They got out with their lives. We can rebuild, but what we can’t do is replace humans.”
No one died in the fire, and only six minor injuries were reported.
Firefighters made more than 160 rescues in the first 24 hours of the blaze.
