LOS ANGELES – Strong Santa Ana winds near Los Angeles are making Southern California’s wildfires more dangerous than they’ve been in years.
The constant 50–70 mph wind gusts have made conditions perfect, causing the fire to spread quickly and forcing many people to leave their homes.
These things caused the deadly Mountain Fire to start on Wednesday in Ventura County. CAL FIRE says the fire has spread to more than 20,000 acres. Parts of Ventura, Camarillo, Moorpark, and Somis, California were told they had to leave their homes.
The Mountain Fire that started in Ventura County early Wednesday morning has still not been controlled, and several people have been hurt. The Ventura County Fire Department says that at least 800 firemen are on the scene.
The agency put out a video of firefighters working in Camarillo Heights.
News sources said that the fire damaged several homes, but no one was killed.
The thick smoke in Camarillo can be seen on videos from Ventura County Supervisor Jeff Gorell. In a different film, you can see firefighters putting out the fire.
Heavy-duty ground crews and helicopters that fly at night resumed the relentless fight against the flames throughout the night. Hundreds of mutual aid teams from all over California are still coming to the scene because the fire is spreading so quickly and has damaged many buildings.
Estimates of the damage should start on Thursday. The reason for the fire is being looked into.
FOX’s Weather Center said the strongest Santa Ana winds were in the morning on Wednesday. However, strong, gusty northeasterly to easterly winds will continue on Thursday. The weather on Thursday won’t be quite as bad, but it will still be very easy for fires to spread.
Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph will be strongest along and below the mountain coasts, including near the Mountain Fire. There will also be the least amount of humidity during the day near the fire and in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, where the National Weather Service issued a rare “Particularly Dangerous Situation” Fire Weather Warning.
NOAA’s GOES-West caught the Mountain Fire in the picture on Wednesday. Fires glow red in the background on a video from space, and big clouds of smoke blow off the coast of California.
Because of the flames, schools have had to close and power has been cut off. The smoke from the fires has also had a big effect on the air quality, which is why people were warned about their health.
Source: Explosive Southern California wildfire driven by powerful Santa Ana winds burns over 20,000 acres
