Massive California Wildfire Burns Homes, Thousands Evacuate

Strong winds picked up in California on Wednesday, November 6, which contributed to the rapid spread of a wildfire. The fire has already destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of people to flee. Forecasters are warning of weather conditions that contribute to the emergence of extreme and life-threatening fires, reports Associated Press.

Photo: iStock.com/Toa55

A wildfire northwest of Los Angeles has prompted evacuation orders for more than 10 people. The blaze threatened 000 structures in suburban communities and farmland around Camarillo, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Nov. 6 that an area east of the Pacific Ocean city of Ventura would receive federal aid after Newsom's request was approved.

The fire is raging in a region that has suffered from repeated fires in recent years. A thick column of smoke rose hundreds of feet into the sky on November 6, enveloping entire neighborhoods and limiting visibility. In just five hours, the fire grew from an area less than a square kilometer to 5 square kilometers.

On the subject: Evacuations and school closures: massive fire in California has destroyed almost 10 hectares of land

Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson described how crews raced to homes threatened by fire to rescue people: "The flames were as fierce as you could imagine. The hair on the backs of the firefighters' necks was standing up."

Some homes were burned to the ground, leaving only charred roof tiles. Firefighters said two people were taken to hospitals for apparent smoke inhalation. No rescuers reported serious injuries.

Unsustainable winds, gusting to nearly 60 miles per hour, forced planes to land, meteorologist Brian Lewis said. Helicopters dropping water are still grounded.

Rescuers urged people to evacuate. They contacted 14 residents of the area to urge them to leave urgently, as the wind carried smoldering embers up to 000 kilometers away.

"The fire is moving at an alarming rate," said Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner.

Aerial videos from local TV stations showed dozens of homes in several neighborhoods as burning particles drifted from house to house. Some footage showed horses trotting alongside rescue vehicles.

Jade Katz, 35, is disabled and doesn’t drive. He was waiting for a friend to pick him up from his Camarillo Heights home with a suitcase full of medications and Bella, a Great Dane. But the friend couldn’t reach him, so first responders sent a patrol car to haul him out on the afternoon of Nov. 6, just as a helicopter dropped water on the house across the street.

“When the rescuers were taking my neighbor and me out, we saw several houses along the way that had burned to the ground,” Katz noted.

Officials said they had deployed all resources, including helicopters dropping water and fixed-wing aircraft dropping fire retardant. But the fire was still out of control by the afternoon of November 6.

Andrew Dowd, a Ventura County fire spokesman, said he didn't yet have an exact figure on how many structures were damaged.

Gus Garcia, a rancher south of the fire, is waiting for conditions to change to decide whether to evacuate his horses and other livestock. His ranch is surrounded by other horse and alpaca ranches. Garcia said his neighbors in the canyon don't seem to be panicking. But they are prepared for possible evacuations.

Meanwhile, to the south, Los Angeles County fire crews were trying to contain a wildfire near Broad Beach in Malibu. Authorities briefly closed the Pacific Coast Highway as flames engulfed homes. Residents were urged to shelter in place while planes dropped water on the 20-acre blaze. The fire was 12% contained and had stopped moving by about 30:6 p.m. Nov. 15. Firefighters said two structures had burned.

The National Weather Service office in the Los Angeles area has upgraded its warning from a red “increased danger” to a rare “particularly dangerous situation.” Officials in several counties have urged residents to be on the lookout for fast-moving fires, power outages, and downed trees. The culprit is the infamous Santa Ana wind. These are dry, warm winds that blow from the east or northeast across the desert areas and mountains of Southern California. They often occur in the fall and winter, although they can occur at other times of the year. These winds are known for their high speeds and the ability to reach hurricane force levels, making them especially dangerous for spreading wildfires.

With gusts of 80 to 160 mph (8 to 7 km/h) forecast and humidity levels as low as XNUMX%, parts of Southern California could have conditions favorable for "extreme and life-threatening" fires through Nov. XNUMX, the weather service said.

Forecasters issued a high-risk warning through November 7 for areas from California's central coast through San Francisco Bay and into northern counties, where strong winds were also expected.

California utilities have begun shutting down equipment amid high winds and extreme fire danger after a series of large and deadly wildfires were sparked by damaged power lines and other infrastructure. More than 65 customers in Southern California and more than 000 in Northern California were without power Wednesday as part of precautionary shutdowns.

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The Nov. 7 fires were in the same areas that have seen devastating fires in the past, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which killed three people and destroyed 1600 homes, and the 2017 Thomas Fire, which destroyed more than XNUMX homes and other structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was found to have caused both blazes.

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