By A devastating wildfire driven by powerful Santa Ana winds continued its destructive path through Ventura County for a second day Thursday, having already consumed dozens of homes and forced more than 10,000 residents to evacuate from communities northwest of Los Angeles, California.
The Mountain Fire, which erupted Wednesday in suburban areas around Camarillo, exploded from less than half a square mile to more than 16 square miles in just over five hours, threatening 3,500 structures across residential neighborhoods, ranches, and agricultural lands, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office.
Ventura County Fire officials reported zero percent containment late Wednesday as thick plumes of smoke hundreds of feet high severely limited visibility for both firefighters and evacuees. First responders conducted an aggressive evacuation campaign, making contact with 14,000 residents as wind-driven embers sparked new fires miles from the main blaze.
“This is as intense as it gets. The hair on the back of the firefighters’ neck I’m sure was standing up,” said Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson during a Wednesday afternoon press conference, describing how crews raced to defend threatened homes.
The National Weather Service extended a red flag warning through Thursday evening, with wind gusts reaching up to 61 mph and humidity levels dropping as low as 9% – conditions officials warned could lead to “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior. Forecasters indicated winds would significantly diminish by Thursday night.
Emergency response efforts included deploying water-dropping helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft with fire retardant, though the blaze continued burning out of control. Two civilians were hospitalized for apparent smoke inhalation, while no firefighters reported significant injuries. Ventura County Fire spokesperson Andrew Dowd could not yet confirm the total number of structures damaged.
The crisis expanded southward as Los Angeles County Fire Department crews simultaneously battled the separate Broad Fire near Malibu’s Broad Beach, which prompted temporary closure of the Pacific Coast Highway as flames threatened multimillion-dollar properties. By late Wednesday, firefighters had achieved 60% containment of the 50-acre blaze after two structures burned, halting its forward progress.
The fires erupted in areas with recent catastrophic wildfire history, including zones affected by 2018’s deadly Woolsey Fire and 2017’s Thomas Fire. Those disasters prompted utility company Southern California Edison to pay tens of millions in settlement claims after its equipment was determined to have sparked both blazes.
As a precautionary measure amid the extreme fire danger, utilities cut power to more than 65,000 Southern California customers and 20,000 Northern California residents on Wednesday. The preventative shutoffs became standard practice after a series of devastating wildfires in recent years were linked to electrical infrastructure.
The National Weather Service also issued red flag warnings extending from California’s central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area and into northern counties, as dangerous fire conditions threatened multiple regions across the state.
