Uncontrolled wildfires ripping through Southern California are destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands to evacuate
AP Photo/Noah Berger
- A series of wildfires broke out around the Los Angeles area on Tuesday morning, forcing thousands to evacuate.
- The three fires, centered around Ventura, Sylmar, and Santa Clarita, burned through thousands of acres and showed no signs of stopping by Tuesday afternoon.
- The fires are caused by dry, gusty winds, and below-average precipitation in recent weeks. The high winds are expected to continue through Thursday.
A series of wildfires broke out around the Los Angeles area late Monday night and Tuesday morning, forcing thousands to evacuate and showing no signs of abating on Monday.
The largest fire, in Ventura County, spread into the city of Ventura fueled by high winds and dry conditions, burning 45,500 acres and forcing 27,000 people to evacuate.
Firefighters knocked on residents' doors in the middle of the night telling them they had just minutes to grab their valuable items and pets before fleeing.
Winds of up to 70 miles per hour are making it all but impossible to contain the blazes. As of Tuesday afternoon, there was no containment of the fire due to the winds, The Los Angeles Times reports. The fire has ripped through at least 150 structures, including large apartment complexes and a psychiatric hospital.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Department spokesman told The LA Times that over 1,000 firefighters are on the scene.
"The fire growth is just absolutely exponential," Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen told reporters. "All that firefighters can do when we have winds like this is get out ahead, evacuate people, and protect structures."
AP Photo/Noah Berger
As the Ventura fire raged, another fire near the Los Angeles suburb of Sylmar — dubbed the Creek fire — broke out early Tuesday morning and has continued to grow.
The Creek fire has burned 4,000 acres and destroyed a number of homes, the LA Times reports. Firefighters have had little luck containing the blaze either, given the powerful winds.
Authorities have closed the 210 Freeway and ordered mandatory evacuations in areas in the fire's path. Roughly 400 firefighters and 50 fire engines from Sylmar are battling the blaze, though fire departments in the region are stretched thin between the two fires.
"We have this fire, and the devastating fire in Ventura County has definitely tapped the resources throughout the region," Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief David Richardson told reporters.
Another fire — the Rye fire — broke out near Santa Clarita late Tuesday morning as well, forcing authorities to close Interstate 5, and causing power outages across the region, reports the LA Times. The fire grew to approximately 200 acres by 10:50 a.m., and 200 firefighters are battling that blaze.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
The huge fires are caused by weather conditions that have aligned to make the LA-area somewhat of a tinderbox. The entire region is under a "red flag" advisory for weather conditions due to Santa Ana winds that are expected to blow through Thursday.
The National Weather Service warned on Monday — hours before the fires broke out — that if a fire occurs, "there will be the potential for very rapid fire spread," and "extreme fire behavior."
"You can only imagine the impact this weather is having on the flaming front," Richardson said, per the LA Times. "This wind is what's being dealt with at this point in time. It makes things very … difficult because we're chasing the fire, we're chasing the fire trying to get ahead of it, trying to get in front to provide structure defense."
California has been ravaged by wildfires in recent months. In October, a series of fires destroyed communities in Northern California, in what is considered the deadliest wildfire in the state's history. Experts say it will take years for the state to recover.
Here's a map of all the active fire locations in the Los Angeles area:
Calfire.gov/Screenshot
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.