Southern California firefighters make progress against Wildfire has destroyed 132 structuresMost homes were destroyed, and strong winds that slowed Friday forced some people to return to sort through the charred remains of their homes.
Marianne Bellotte returned to her mountain home in Camarillo, northwest of Los Angeles, after fleeing for her life with her cat, dog and horses as fires raged through the area.
The only thing that remained standing was a rocky wall that he had built.
“If I didn’t have horses, I would be devastated, but I have my family and I have my animals, so I’m OK. I will rebuild,” she said, standing outside the remains of her 50-year-old home, while her dog sat in her car.
mountain fire It began in Ventura County on Wednesday morning and had grown to 32 square miles (about 83 square kilometers).
It was 7% on Friday morning.
Bill Nardoni and his family combed through the debris of their Camarillo home Friday afternoon and found his wedding ring in a safe.
But his wife’s, which was kept in a separate safe in another part of his house, remained missing and Nardoni had little hope that she would be found safe.
Nardoni, his wife and their visiting mother-in-law fled with their dogs on Wednesday morning as flames spread on both sides of their road.
They returned Friday to find a scene of devastation at the house they had bought only a year ago, which was still undergoing reconstruction.
“The house has been destroyed. There’s really nothing worth saving from it,” he said.
“I don’t know what we’ll do.”
Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate Friday morning as the fire continues to threaten about 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, farms and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County.
In addition to the 132 structures destroyed, at least 88 additional structures were damaged.
Officials did not say whether they were burned or affected by water or smoke damage.
cause of Fire Has not been determined.
Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff said ten people suffered smoke inhalation or other injuries that were not life-threatening.
County fire officials said crews working across the slope with the help of water-dropping helicopters were focusing on protecting homes on hills on the northeastern edge of the fire near the city of Santa Paula, where more than 30,000 people live. Are.
Officials in several Southern California counties urged residents to keep an eye on rapidly spreading fires, power outages and downed trees during the latest round of the notorious Santa Ana winds, including a rural area of northern San Diego County. Where brush fires prompted mandatory evacuations. Friday afternoon.
The Santa Anas are dry, hot, and strong northeasterly winds that blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore, blowing in the opposite direction to the normal onshore flow that carries moist air from the Pacific.
They typically occur during the fall months and continue through winter and early spring.
Red flag warnings indicating high fire danger conditions expired Thursday in most areas except the Santa Susana Mountains, where warnings ended Friday morning when winds began to subside.
Santa Anas are expected to return early to mid-week next week, said Ariel Cohen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
An air quality warning for harmful fine particle pollution due to wildfire smoke was in effect from Friday morning to Saturday afternoon.
More than a dozen school districts and campuses in Ventura County were closed Friday due to the impact of the fire, according to the county’s education office.
The mountain fire was burning in an area that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires in years.
The fire quickly grew from half a square mile (about 1.2 square kilometers) to more than 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) in a little more than five hours on Wednesday.
Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in Ventura County.
