The flames from the fire, dubbed the Mountain Fire, which started in a rural area of the small unincorporated community of Somis in Ventura County, grew rapidly from 1.5 square miles to more than 22 square miles on Wednesday and is zero percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
Santa Ana winds and dry conditions rapidly spread the flames through the Camarillo Heights community. The regional weather phenomenon sends strong and extremely dry winds throughout the coastal and inland regions in Southern California.
Several homes and other structures were destroyed by Wednesday afternoon, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. Numerous other homes were threatened by the growing flames, the department reported.
One video shared on social media showed Ventura County sheriff’s deputies running into a home to rescue an elderly disabled woman, wheeling her to safety in their vehicle.
Officials expanded evacuation orders and warnings throughout Ventura County from North Lewis Road to Los Posas Country Club to North Loop Drive in the Camarillo Heights area. Residents in parts of the unincorporated community of Somis were also ordered to leave immediately.
An evacuation shelter was opened at Padre Serra Paris, at 5205 Upland Road in Camarillo.
A large animal evacuation center was opened for horses and other animals from the rural community at Ventura County Fairgrounds on East Harbor Boulevard in Ventura.
The Mountain Fire has grown large enough to prompt Cal Fire to activate a fire incident management team to coordinate firefighting efforts.
About 140 firefighters were on scene with 58 fire trucks, according to the department.
Because of extreme wind conditions, firefighters were not able to use fixed-wing firefighting aircraft to help extinguish or slow the fire’s growth.
“Ground crews, helicopters and mutual aid resources are actively working to protect lives and property,” the department reported.
A massive plume of smoke hovered over the Camarillo’s mix of rural and urban neighborhoods.
The cause of the fire, which reportedly started at the corner of Balcom Canyon and Bradley roads, was under investigation.
Camarillo is a city with nearly 70,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The community is located between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. Camarillo Heights is a neighborhood with homes ranging in value from $300,000 to $3 million, according to online realty site Realtor.com.
Another fire started on Wednesday at about 9:10 a.m. near Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu. The fire burned a small area of brush and damaged two homes, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Malibu city officials urged residents in the area to shelter in place as they fought the fire. All lanes of Pacific Coast Highway were closed from Corral Canyon to Webb Way.
The National Weather Service had placed Ventura County, along with several other California counties, under a red-flag warning starting earlier Wednesday. Dry conditions and gusty winds prompted the warning, which alerted residents to the high probability of fire danger in the area.
Red-flag warnings were issued to much of California on Wednesday as strong winds were expected from Napa and Sonoma counties down to San Diego County.
Weather forecasters were expecting low humidity, dry vegetation, and gusting winds for the next two days. When those factors are combined, California allows utilities to temporarily turn off power in some areas to reduce the risk of starting wildfires by overloading utility lines.
In Southern California, the winds were expected to sweep through the region until Thursday, with wind gusts of between 50 and 100 mph anticipated.
