A wildfire that forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate Simi Valley jumped to 15% containment overnight, according to officials.
The blaze began around 11 a.m. Monday off Sandy Avenue and moved to nearby homes, destroying one, according to Cal Fire. It had burned across 1,698 acres as of Wednesday morning.
Overnight, fire activity continued around the eastern edge of the fire and began spotting near Sequoia Avenue, according to Andrew Dowd, spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department.
Crews are continuing to battle the fire on Wednesday, as weather patterns are expected to stay the same, Dowd said. Eastern winds are expected to shift west in the afternoon. Around 43,000 residents remain under evacuation orders.
“We’re here with Cal Fire, L.A. City and L.A. County Fire,” Dowd said. “We have water in helicopters, dozers, and engines and we are giving this fire an aggressive fire tap with everything we got.”
A firefighter sprays burning brush during the Sandy fire in Runkle Canyon on Tuesday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Winds were pretty light for the most part overnight, with lower elevations seeing winds under 5 mph, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. Offshore winds will continue Wednesday from the northeast, with gusts around 12 mph continuing through the morning and weekend.
Relative humidity around the fire hovered between 15% and 25% overnight but was expected to improve Wednesday afternoon, with humidity increasing to around 60-70%, Lewis said.
The following road closures were in effect Wednesday: Bell Canyon Road in both directions from Overland Drive, Katherine Road at the railroad tracks, Clear Springs Road from Santa Susana Pass Road to Katherine Road, Oak Knolls Road at Southern Oaks Avenue, Crinklaw Lane, Santa Susana Pass Road at railroad tracks and Santa Susana Pass Road at Box Canyon Road.
An evacuation warning in Ventura County was effect near Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Chatsworth, West Hills and Lake Manor.
Containment grew on other fires in Southern California by Wednesday morning as well.
The Verona fire in Riverside County has burned 500 acres and was 5% contained.
The Bain fire in Riverside County has burned 1,375 acres and was 10% contained.
And the Santa Rosa Island fire on Santa Rosa Island was 17,000 acres and 26% contained after starting on Friday by a flare.
