Wildfire evacuations continue to expand in Ventura County

On November 8, 2024By Littum

Multiple evacuations have been ordered on the second day of the wildfire, which has burned 14,000 acres in Ventura County.

Thursday morning, new evacuations were ordered for the Santa Paula and Bardsdale areas, along the Santa Clara River and up to the western edge of Moorpark.

Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said at a news conference Thursday morning that the fire remained “very active … and unpredictable.” On the first day the fire burned to the west; on Thursday the wind had changed direction, and the firemen’s focus was the north-east edge.

The mountain fire was reported shortly before 9 on Wednesday, November 6, under a red flag warning that covered much of the California coast. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said Thursday.

The burned area was estimated at 14,182 acres (22 square miles) with 0% containment, according to Ventura County Fire Department.

By Thursday morning, evacuations covered nearly 80 square miles — the area shown in red on the map above — including some neighborhoods in Camarillo. The black line indicates the approximate fire perimeter. For updates on evacuation orders, see Ventura County Emergency Site.

Crews were in the field to assess homes and other structures that have been destroyed or damaged. No figures were released at Thursday morning’s press conference.

Fixed-wing aircraft could not be used in the first day of firefighting due to high winds, but they were in use on Thursday.

A National Weather Service spokesman said maximum gusts Thursday morning in the Ventura area were about 35 mph; by Wednesday they had reached 80 mph. Winds were expected to ease further in the late afternoon and the red flag warning – indicating increased fire risk – was set to expire at

Another round of high Santa Ana winds is expected next week in the Ventura County area, the weather service said.

The mountain fire is just south of the area of the Thomas Fire, which started in December 2017 and burned 281,893 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 structures.

Originally published: 7 November 2024 at 11:13 AM PST