Firefighters are closing in on full containment of a nearly 10,000 acre brush fire in Ventura County. The Maria Fire is now 90% contained. The fire started Thursday night on South Mountain near Santa Paula, and at one point threatened about 1800 structures.
But, firefighters were able to stop the flames. Two structures have been confirmed destroyed.
By Saturday night, all evacuation orders were lifted. Firefighters are hoping to have full containment on Friday.
Nearly half of the firefighters still assigned to the blaze were released Monday, leaving just over 600 to continue mopup efforts. Due to more complete mapping, the tally of acreage went from just over 9400 acres to 9,999 acres.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
