Fire crews on Thursday were battling a wildfire that sprang up in Southern California stoked by strong winds, destroying multiple homes and forcing over 10,000 people to flee.
The Mountain Fire, which started in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles on Wednesday at about 9:40 a.m., has burned over 14,000 acres and was 0% contained as of Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire. Firefighters from across the state were battling the blaze, the county said.
“Every helicopter, every fixed wing aircraft, everything we’ve been able to get a hold of is here fighting this fire,” Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said Wednesday afternoon.
At least two people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation, officials said.
The National Weather Service warned Thursday that critical wildfire weather across the state, fueled by gusty winds and low moisture, would linger for the next few days. Santa Ana winds are expected to hit 30-55 mph and gusts up to 100 mph are possible in mountainous areas through Friday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency authorized the use of federal funds to help California battle the fire on Wednesday.
Wildfire smoke map: Track fires and red flag warnings across the US
Fire threatens thousands of homes, other buildings
California’s fire agency has not yet released an official count of how many homes and other structures were destroyed, but reporters and photographers with the Ventura County Star, part of the USA TODAY Network, witnessed homes burning throughout the day near Camarillo and Somis.
The fire was threatening over 3,500 structures, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
Photos show firefighters working in huge plumes of smoke and houses completely engulfed, some leveled by the fire.
“Bushes are burning, grass is burning, hedgerows are burning, agricultural fields are burning, and structures are burning,” Gardner said. “This fire is moving dangerously fast.”
Extreme fire weather across California on Thursday
About 26 million people across California remained under red flag warnings.
That includes areas along the Interstate 5 corridor and the northern Ventura County mountains through Friday. “Particularly dangerous situation” (PDS) red flag warnings were extended through later Thursday morning in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, central and southeastern Ventura County Valleys and Ventura County inland stretching to beaches from Malibu to Oxnard.
“These are extremely critical and highly volatile conditions,” the weather service in Los Angeles/Oxnard said. “Any new fires in the Red Flag Warning area – and especially the PDS Red Flag Warning area – will have rapid fire spread, extreme fire behavior, and long range spotting.”
Ventura County officials said power might be proactively shut off to prevent any new fires from sparking during these conditions, and over 90,000 customers were impacted as of Thursday morning.
Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Ventura County Star.