-
Tips for becoming a good boxer - November 6, 2020
-
7 expert tips for making your hens night a memorable one - November 6, 2020
-
5 reasons to host your Christmas party on a cruise boat - November 6, 2020
-
What to do when you’re charged with a crime - November 6, 2020
-
Should you get one or multiple dogs? Here’s all you need to know - November 3, 2020
-
A Guide: How to Build Your Very Own Magic Mirror - February 14, 2019
-
Our Top Inspirational Baseball Stars - November 24, 2018
-
Five Tech Tools That Will Help You Turn Your Blog into a Business - November 24, 2018
-
How to Indulge on Vacation without Expanding Your Waist - November 9, 2018
-
5 Strategies for Businesses to Appeal to Today’s Increasingly Mobile-Crazed Customers - November 9, 2018
California highway shutdown, residents evacuated in massive wildfire
Two firefighters are reported to have suffered ankle and knee injuries due to the rocky terrain.
Advertisement
Highway 101 – a major north-south route in Southern California – was closed in both directions for roughly 15 miles from state Highway 150 to state Highway 33, forcing holiday travelers to take narrow, backcountry roads.
The Orange County Fire Authority today said they have sent a strike team to assist in battling a wind-driven brush fire in Solimar Beach in Ventura County that has consumed at least 1,250 acres.
The firefighters’ biggest concern remains the wind, which was blowing at 25- to 35-mph in the area on Saturday. Traffic on a nearby state highway was bumper-to-bumper and moving slowly, a Reuters witness reported.
Responding agencies included the Ventura County Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Ventura City Fire Department, Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Paula City Fire Department, CAL-FIRE, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced on Saturday morning the fire was only 10% contained as it reached 1,200 acres.
“There was nobody stopping us on the highway as we got closer and closer, so we thought it was totally safe for us to drive past it”, Maaike Maks told CNN.
As of Saturday, some 600 firefighters were at the scene while four helicopters dumped water on the blaze.
A downed power line is believed to have been the culprit for the wildfire, according to Tom Kruschke of the Ventura County Fire Department.
Officials, meanwhile, are still determining what caused the fire.
The Solimar Beach community, with 50 to 60 homes, and a nearby campground were under a mandatory evacuation order.
Advertisement
“There’s been a little bit of lingering northeast wind up at the fire site, and we’re expecting it to die out pretty rapidly by noon or so”, said David Sweet, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Oxnard.