KCLU provided key information to thousands of Ventura County residents as a wind-whipped wildfire forced tens of thousands of evacuations in May of 2026. We were on the air with extensive on-scene live coverage, updates from the studio, and online and social media updates. At one point, upwards of 25,000 homes and businesses in Simi Valley were threatened by the blaze.
We are the NPR radio station for Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, with a two-person newsroom and a full time station staff of six. We are in brush fire territory, and place a high priority in providing vita information to the public when we have major blazes, especially since only two of the more than 30 commercial radio stations in our coverage area have local newscasts, and neither still has field reporters.
