A wildfire in Southern California has destroyed 132 structures in less than two days, fire officials reported Thursday.
The fire started Wednesday morning in Ventura County and has spread across nearly 31 square miles (80 square kilometers). The cause has not yet been determined.
Firefighters said another 88 structures were damaged, but did not specify whether from fire, water or smoke.
About 10,000 people remained under evacuation orders Thursday as the Mountain Fire remained a threat to about 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo, Ventura County.
County officials said crews working in steep terrain with the support of water-dropping helicopters were focused on protecting homes on hillsides along the northeastern edge of the fire, near the city of Santa Paula, where more residents live. of 30,000 people.
Kelly Barton watched as firefighters sifted through the rubble of her parents’ home in the hills of Camarillo. Among the remains they discovered two safes and their parents’ intact collection of antique knockers.
“This was their retirement home for the rest of their lives,” Barton said Thursday. “Now, at over 70 years old, they have to start over.”
His father returned to the house Wednesday an hour after evacuating, only to find it destroyed. He managed to get four of his classic cars to safety, but two of them, including a Chevy Nova he had owned since he was 18, were left in “ashes,” Barton said.
The National Weather Service said a red flag warning, which indicates high fire risk conditions, will remain in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday. Strong winds are forecast to diminish significantly, but humidity levels will remain critically low, forecasters said.
Authorities in several Southern California counties called on people to remain alert for possible fast-spreading fires, power outages and downed trees during the latest round of Santa Ana winds.
The Santa Ana winds are gusts of dry wind that blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and out to sea, moving in the opposite direction to the normal flow that brings moist air from the Pacific. They usually occur in the fall months and continue throughout the winter and into early spring.
The Mountain Fire was burning in a region that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires. The flames spread from 1.2 square kilometers (less than a square mile) to more than 41 square kilometers (16 square miles) in just over five hours Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, it had spread to nearly 31 square miles (80 square kilometers) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom had proclaimed a state of emergency in the county.
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