The Mountain Fire has already burned over 14,000 acres through Ventura County in southern California, and officials are carefully monitoring where the fire could spread on Thursday, November 7. The brush fire broke out on Wednesday at 9:30 AM PT before rapidly scorching several communities in the county, burning down homes in Camarillo and causing thousands in the area to evacuate. At 10:38 AM on Thursday, CalFire stated that the fire still remains at 0% containment. Here’s where the local fire department warns the Mountain Fire could expand.
Where could the Mountain Fire spread?
The Mountain Fire has the potential to spread east during the day, according to Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson in a press conference on Thursday (via ABC7).
Johnson explains that the department’s priority on the fire is on its northeastern side, which is “north of the community of Somis and south of the community of Santa Paula.” This is because the daily wind pattern of the region typically has winds that come from the west, potentially blowing the fire to the east. He says the fire is threatening a mixture of populated areas and “back country” that includes ranch properties on the hills.
On Wednesday, Santa Ana winds of over 80 mph along with dry brush in the region contributed to wildfire erupting across the area. Conditions were so severe that the National Weather Service put out a rare “Particularly Dangerous Situation” alert on top of the Red Flag Warnings in the area, an advisory that is only issued once every few y ears, according to CBS. Johnson expects that a similar Santa Ana wind incident could occur later by early next week.
The cause of the wildfire has not yet been determined, but an investigation team from the fire department is on the case.
Andrew Smith of the L.A. County Fire Department said that multiple damage assessment teams have been deployed to determine the extent of the damage thus far.
Official updates on the Mountain Fire can be found at CalFire, with the latest status reports available on this page.
