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Firefighters Continue To Mop Up Ventura County's Maria Brush Fire; Containment Hits 80%

The Maria Fire burning outside of Santa Paula early Friday morning

Firefighters continue to make major progress towards mopping up Ventura County's Maria brush fire, with containment now at 80% as of Monday morning.  The size of the fire hasn't grown for the last few days, with just over 9400 acres burned.

Crews are focusing on removing damaged trees and other potential fuel which could threaten fire lines.  About 1100 firefighters are still involved in firefighting efforts.

The goal is to fully contain the fire by Friday.  Two structures have been confirmed destroyed, but assessment crews are still in the field trying to get a comprehensive picture of structure damage.

The fire started on South Mountain outside of Santa Paula Thursday night.  It threatened about 1800 structures, and forced thousands of evacuations.  But, all evacuation orders and road closures were lifted Saturday night.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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