CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire northwest of Los Angeles burned out of control for a second day Thursday after destroying dozens of homes, but officials said firefighters could get a break with fierce winds expected to subside by evening.
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More than 10,000 residents remained under evacuation orders as the Mountain Fire continued to threaten some 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County. The blaze, which broke out around 9 a.m. Wednesday, had zero containment and the cause was unknown.
County fire officials said crews working in steep terrain with support from water-dropping helicopters were focusing on protecting homes on hillsides along the fire’s northeast edge near the city of Santa Paula, home to more than 30,000 people.
“It’s been a long 26 hours since this incident started, and it remains dynamic and it remains dangerous,” Ventura County Fire Department Chief Dustin Gardner said at a Thursday morning briefing.
Kelly Barton, 43, watched as firefighters sifted through the charred rubble of her parents’ ranch home of 20 years in the hills of Camarillo with a view of the Pacific Ocean. The crews uncovered two safes and her parents’ collection of vintage door knockers undamaged among the devastation.
“This was their forever retirement home,” Barton said Thursday. “Now in their 70s, they have to start over.”
Her father returned to the house an hour after evacuating Wednesday to find it already destroyed. He was able to move four of their vintage cars to safety but two – including a Chevy Nova that he’d had since he was 18 – burned to “toast,” Barton said.
The National Weather Service said a red flag warning, which indicates conditions for high fire danger, would remain in effect until 6 p.m. Winds were expected to decrease significantly but humidity levels will remain critically low, forecasters said.
Officials in several Southern California counties urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees during the latest round of notorious Santa Ana winds.
The Mountain Fire was burning in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires over the years. A thick plume of smoke rose hundreds of feet into the sky Wednesday, blanketing whole neighborhoods and limiting visibility for firefighters and evacuees. Aerial TV footage showed flames consuming dozens of homes as embers whipped along residential blocks.
Slick, Weeny, and the rest of the idiots with D in front of their names promised over 3 years ago to start proven forest management including fire break cutting, planned burns, and more. THEY (meaning you who vote D) DID NOT DO IT.
Hundreds of Millions burned because of stupidity and being held hostage by the radical left.
So when your house is burned, you are forced out of your house, etc. are you still going to vote D?
After all the top of the Dizzy Party are inept.
One more notch in destroying CA by the illustrious “D’s”!!!!
NO forest management – blame it on the utilities – – – – –
Once more – dimwit Newscum has added to ALL of our miseries in this pathetic state!!! How sad – what was once so glorious is becoming less than a 3rd world!