CAMARILLO, California — Firefighters in Southern California trying to control a wildfire that has destroyed 132 structures in two days may be aided by a forecast of severe severe heat. gusts of wind relaxed early Friday, officials said.
The Mountain Fire started Wednesday morning in Ventura County and had grown to 32 square miles (about 83 square kilometers) by Thursday evening, with 5% contained.
About 10,000 people remained under evacuation orders Friday morning as the fire continued to threaten about 3,500 buildings in suburbs, farms and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County.
At least 88 additional buildings were damaged in addition to the 132 buildings destroyed, mostly houses. Officials did not indicate whether they were burned or affected by water or smoke damage. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Ten people suffered smoke inhalation or other non-life-threatening injuries, Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff said.
Crews working in steep terrain with support from water-dropping helicopters focused on protecting homes on hills along the northeastern edge of the fire near the city of Santa Paula, home to more than 30,000 people, county fire officials said.
Officials in several Southern California counties have urged Southern California residents to be on the lookout for fast-spreading fires, power outages and downed trees in the latest round of blazes. infamous Santa Ana winds.
Santa Anas are dry, warm and gusty northeasterly wind that blow from inland Southern California toward the coast and offshore, moving in the opposite direction of the normal onshore current that carries moist air from the Pacific Ocean. They usually occur during the fall months and continue through the winter and into early spring.
Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said Santa Ana winds were easing at lower elevations but remained gusty at higher elevations Thursday evening.
Red flag warnings, which indicate high fire danger conditions, have expired in the area, except in the Santa Susana Mountains, where the warnings are set to expire in the mountains at 11 a.m. Friday. The Santa Anas are expected to return early to midweek next week, Cohen said.
The Mountain Fire raged in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires over the years. The fire quickly grew from less than half a square mile (about 1.2 square kilometers) to more than 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) in just over five hours on Wednesday.
By Thursday evening, the wildfire had been mapped to about 51 square miles (83 square kilometers) and Governor Gavin Newsom had declared a state of emergency in the county.
California Utilities started turning off equipment in strong winds and extreme fire hazard after a series of massive and deadly wildfires in recent years were caused by power lines and other infrastructure.
Power was shut off to nearly 70,000 customers in five provinces due to the increased risk. Southern California Edison said Thursday. Company spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas could not immediately answer whether power had been turned off in the area where the mountain fire started.
The wildfires raged in the same areas as other recent devastating infernos, including 2018 Woolsey firethat killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes near Los Angeles, and the 2017 Thomas Fire, which burned more than a thousand homes and other structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison has paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both fires.
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Weber reported from Los Angeles. Jaimie Ding and Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles, Ethan Swope in Camarillo, Eugene Garcia in Santa Paula and Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Sarah Brumfield in Washington, DC, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.