California wildfire closes popular coastal highway

A wildfire near Ventura, Calif. has burned almost 1,250 acres of land, and shut down the busy USA 101 freeway and Pacific Coast Highway along the Pacific coast early Saturday morning, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

The fire was now uncontained, he added.

Ventura County Fire spokesman Tom Kruschke says the fire is about 10 percent contained.

Fire officials said the 1,200-acre fire was only 10% contained on Saturday afternoon.

Four fixed-wing tankers were also en route. Winds of 50 miles per hour fed flames overnight, according to the department. The wind is not expected to die down but to continue through Sunday.

Fire officials said they hope to reopen the closed 15-mile-long section of the scenic highway soon, but cautioned that it could take three days to contain the fire. With clear and mostly sunny skies forecast for the coming week, the biggest problem is going to be the winds.

People in the Solimar Beach area have been ordered to leave their homes, according to the county fire department, while a voluntary evacuation notice has gone out for people in Faria Beach, a short distance up the coast. During Friday night’s evacuations some travelers even shared videos of themselves “driving through fire” with flames and scorched hills surrounding northbound and southbound lanes.

The various agencies responding to the fire include the Ventura County Fire Department, Ventura City Fire Department, Santa Barbara Fire Department, Santa Paula City Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, and Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

A Red Cross shelter has been set up for residents. “That’s been one of the priorities – to make sure the highway gets opened up”. “We’re getting a bunch of embers in Solimar east”. “We don’t want that to happen”. No injuries or damaged homes had been reported by the time officials held a mid morning press conference.