A wildfire northwest of Los Angeles grew on Thursday, Nov. 7, engulfing dozens of homes and forcing more than 10,000 Californians to evacuate. The Mountain Fire threatened thousands of structures across neighborhoods, ranches and agricultural areas in Ventura County after sparking on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
At least 800 firefighters were being deployed on Thursday to knock out the flames that were quickly spreading.
“It’s been a long 26 hours since this incident stared, and it remains dynamic, and it remains dangerous,” Fire Chief Dustin Gardner of the Ventura County Fire Department said on Thursday.
The National Weather Service said drought combined with strong winds made conditions ripe for a large fire. Forecasters issued red flag warnings from California’s central coast to the north as high winds ripped through the area on Thursday.
Meanwhile, dozens of school districts and campuses closed as smoke billowed from the fire and power was shut off to nearly 70,000 customers. More than 250,000 were reportedly at risk of having their power shut off over wildfire concerns.
Two people reportedly suffered smoke inhalation from the Mountain Fire. However, officials say no firefighters have been seriously injured in the fire.
Straight Arrow News previously reported on a wildfire that erupted in Malibu on Wednesday, Nov. 6, which reportedly grew to 50 acres, destroying at least two structures and causing a brief closure of a major highway.
