California wildfire burns over 1000 acres, forces evacuations
A Dutch family, which came to California for the holidays, had a Christmas night they’ll never forget as they were forced to flee the blaze in Solimar Beach near Ventura.
The fire started around 10:30 p.m. Friday, burning about 100 acres in the 3000 block of West Pacific Coast Highway.
The fire started on Friday night near Ventura County, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Los Angeles, when high winds knocked down power lines in a dry hilly area.
About 600 area firefighters are continuing to battle the blaze and are being assisted by at least two water-dropping helicopters.
The fire was just 10 percent contained as of late this morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
About 50 homes in the Solimar Beach community were placed under mandatory evacuation orders and about 30 nearby homes were placed under voluntary evacuation.
Fire officials had earlier reported that parts of the Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1) also were closed, but a fire department spokeswoman said only a portion that overlaps US 101 was closed.
“It looks like the intense firefight is over”, Lindbery said Sunday afternoon, noting a weather change had brought beneficial cloud cover that shifted conditions in firefighters’ favor. The evacuation order was later lifted.
Officials, meanwhile, are still determining what caused the fire.
The Ventura County Fire Department says some 400 firefighters made great progress against the wind-driven blaze on Saturday and have stopped its forward spread.
By Sunday morning, the strong winds were tapering off.
According to the National Fire Protection Association in 2014 there were 1,298,000 fires reported in the United States and these fires caused 3,275 civilian deaths, 15,775 civilian injuries, and $11.6 billion in property damage.
Location of the Solimar Beach fire, which led to the shutdown of Highway 101 on December 26, 2015. The Red Cross has opened a shelter in the area as firefighters work to save homes near Solimar Beach.