A bush fire raged in Ventura County on Thursday night. The flame swiftly consumed more than 5,000 acres and burning structures.
Dubbed as "Maria Fire," the blaze broke on the South Mountain - near Santa Paula. The fire was propelling toward the agricultural towns of Saticoy and Somis. At least two structures have been lost.
The Fire Department ordered mandatory evacuations for about 7,500 people located by South Mountain Road on the north, Highway 118 on the south, Balcom Canyon Road on the east, and Los Angeles Avenue on the west. During the nightfall, firefighters were trying to contain the area and stopped the flames from spreading south toward Somis and north toward Santa Paula.
The officials said the Camarillo Community Center was opened as an emergency shelter. Around more than 200 firefighters were stopping the fire with helicopters and air firefighters dropping water on the fire. NBC Los Angeles was able to capture the video of the wildfire.
According to the National Weather Service, winds on South Mountain came from the northeastern part of the state at 20 miles per hour with gusts of 27 miles per hour by 9:30 p.m. The humidity was only five percent. Officials said moderate offshore winds were expected to last until Friday, with 10 percent humidity hovering around.
Santa Paula is located in the Santa Clara River Valley, where the location is considered the most damaging wind and fire passageways in Southern California. The river valley makes a wind-tunnel-like hall, virtually combining the high barrens and the Santa Clarita Valley with the Oxnard Plain on the Ventura County coast between Oxnard and Ojai.
The Maria fire sparked as firefighters proceed to battle multiple fires across Southern California that together burned hundreds of acres and prompted thousands of residents to leave their homes.
Critical fire weather alerts have been extended through Friday night for the windiest spots of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to forecasts, continuing red-flag conditions for an additional 24 hours.
The red-flag warnings will continue for Los Angeles and Ventura counties and the Santa Clarita Valley due to continuous winds from the northeast and extremely dry, gusty air. Other areas were expected to see red-flag warnings expire as gusts ease Thursday evening to 25 to 35 miles per hour (56.33 kilometers per hour).
The National Weather Service forecasted strong wind gusts recorded Thursday with 67 miles per hour (107.83 kilometers per hour) in the Ventura County coastal valley, compared with a peak recorded Wednesday of 78 miles per hour (125.53 kilometers per hour) at Boney Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains. The air is still bone dry, with relative humidity levels in Simi Valley, the site of the fire that threatened the Reagan Library, at 8 percent Thursday.
Winds of up to 54 miles per hour (86.9 kilometers per hour) were recorded close to the Cajon Pass, near where the Hillside fire in San Bernardino spread Thursday morning. At Riverside Municipal Airport, gusts of 25 mph (40 kilometers per hour) to 30 mph (48 kilometers per hour) were recorded near a fire in Jurupa Valley, said Jimmy Taeger, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in San Diego.