Firefighters are continuing to battle a 7500 acres brush fire in the San Fernando Valley, one that’s created concern over the possibility it could spread to Ventura County. The Saddleridge Fire extends from Sylmar to Porter Ranch, closing some major freeways and forcing about 100,000 evacuations.
Firefighters are worried about the potential spread of the Saddleridge fire. It started around nine Thursday night, and rapidly moved west paralleling the 118 Freeway towards Simi Valley. The winds then eased, and shifted, pushing the flames more to the north, in the direction of Santa Clarita. The westward surge of the fire stalled out a few miles east of the county line, but the concern is over the potential the winds could pick up, and shift directions.
Making it more complicated is the weather forecast. The Red Flag Warning for high brush fire danger for the San Fernando Valley, and Ventura County mountains and valleys was expected to end at six Friday night.
The forecast calls for a wind dropoff, but with dry fuel and low humidity there's enough concern that the warning was extended to six Saturday night.
The wind isn’t expected to be as strong, but the command team for the Saddleridge Fire says Ventura County needs to be alert to the possibility the inferno could surge towards Simi Valley.
