CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire in Southern California destroyed 132 structures, mostly homes, in less than two days, fire officials said Thursday. high winds It was predicted that it would ease.

The fire started Wednesday morning in Ventura County and has grown to about 32 square miles (83 square kilometers) at 5% containment. The cause has not been determined.

Ten people were injured during the fire, Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff said. Many suffered smoke inhalation or other non-life-threatening injuries.

Fire officials said 88 other structures were also damaged but did not say whether they were burned or affected by water or smoke.

Nearly 10,000 people remained under evacuation orders Thursday as the Mountain Fire continued to threaten nearly 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, farms and agricultural fields around Camarillo in Ventura County.

County fire officials said crews working the steep terrain with the support of helicopters dropping water were focused on protecting homes on hillsides on the fire’s northeastern border near the city of Santa Paula, home to more than 30,000 people.

Kelly Barton watched firefighters sift through charred debris on her parents’ 20-year-old farm, overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Camarillo hills. Crews uncovered two safes and their parents’ collection of old door knockers, which were undamaged amid the destruction.

“This was their forever retirement home,” Barton said Thursday. “They are in their 70s now and need to start over.”

When his father returned home an hour after the evacuation on Wednesday, he found the house already destroyed. Barton said he managed to get four of his vintage cars to safety, but two of them, including a Chevy Nova he’s owned since he was 18, burned to a “fry.”

Officials in several Southern California counties urged residents to remain alert for rapidly spreading fires, power outages and fallen trees during the latest round of control. famous Santa Ana winds.

Santa Anas dry, warm and strong northeasterly winds The wind blowing from Southern California’s interior to the coast and offshore is moving in the opposite direction of the normal coastal flow, which carries moist air from the Pacific. They usually appear in the autumn months and continue throughout the winter and into early spring.

Ariel Cohen, the National Weather Service’s principal meteorologist in Oxnard, said Santa Ana winds had diminished in lower elevations, but gusty winds continued in higher elevations Thursday evening.

Red flag warnings indicating high fire danger conditions have ended in the area outside the Santa Susana Mountains, Cohen said. Warnings in the mountains will end by 11:00 on Friday.

Cohen added that Santa Ana winds are expected to return by early to mid-next week.

The Mountain Fire was burning in an area that has seen some of California’s most destructive fires in years. The fire quickly grew from half a square mile (about 1.2 square kilometers) to more than 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) in just under five hours Wednesday. It was mapped to about 32 square miles (83 square kilometers) Thursday evening, and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the county.

Marcus Eriksen, who owns a farm in Santa Paula, said that although piles of compost and sawdust were engulfed, firefighters kept embers from spreading to his home, vehicles and other structures.

The flames reached heights of up to 9 meters and were advancing rapidly, Eriksen said on Thursday. He was overwhelmed by their speed and brutality, but the firefighters continued to fight to save as much of his property as possible. Thanks to their work, “we dodged a big bullet,” he said.

Sharon Boggie said the fire came within 200 feet of her home in Santa Paula.

“We thought we were going to lose it at 7:00 this morning,” Boggie said as white smoke billowed through the neighborhood Thursday. She initially escaped with her two dogs, while her sister and nephew stayed behind. Hours later, he said, the situation looked better.

The Ventura County Department of Education announced that more than a dozen school districts and campuses in the county were closed Thursday, with several more expected to close Friday.

Utilities in California begin shutting down equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger After a series of large and deadly wildfires caused by power lines and other infrastructure in recent years.

Southern California Edison shuts off power to nearly 70,000 customers in five counties due to increased risk said thursday. Edison spokeswoman Gabriela Ornelas could not immediately answer whether power was out in the area where the Mountain Fire broke out.

The fires burned in the same areas as other recent devastating fires, including the blaze in 2018. Woolsey Firethe 2017 Thomas Fire near Los Angeles, which killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes, and the 2017 Thomas Fire, which burned more than a thousand homes and other structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Southern California Edison It paid tens of millions of dollars to settle claims after its equipment was blamed for both fires.

___

Weber reported from Los Angeles. Jaimie Ding and Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles; Ethan Swope in Camarillo; Eugene Garcia in Santa Paula; Amy Taxin in Orange County; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Sarah Brumfield in Washington, DC, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.