Thousands of acres burned and many people were injured in the Moorpark fire in Ventura County – WATCH LIVE

MOORPARK, Calif. — Hundreds of people escaped from forest fire Ventura County Fire spread across thousands of acres as Southern California was hit by strong winds on Wednesday and forecasters warned of the potential for “extreme and life-threatening” fires.

rapidly expanding Mountain Fever It prompted evacuation orders for multiple communities in Moorpark and an agricultural area near Santa Paula.

Gus Garcia, who owns a ranch south of the fire, said he is waiting to see if conditions change before deciding whether to evacuate his horses and cattle. At around 12:30 p.m., his animals were still safe and he was trying to get out of the way while others were taking their animals out.

His farm is surrounded by horses and alpacas, among others, and Garcia said his neighbors in the canyon didn’t seem alarmed. “The horse community is preparing for this because it is always a possibility here,” he said.

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County fire spokesman Andrew Dowd said he did not have details on how many structures were damaged. “There are many houses affected by the fire,” he said. “This is a rapidly moving fire.”

In a statement posted on social platform X, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said multiple state agencies “are in close communication to coordinate and support needs in Ventura County.”

Mountain Fever At around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, just under 250 acres were mapped, and at 1:30 p.m., it was mapped at 8,885 acres.

Weather forecaster Bryan Lewis said extreme wind conditions grounded fixed-wing aircraft due to “very dangerous” conditions caused by gusts reaching 61 mph. Pilots could face turbulence that could bring down a plane, he said, and visibility could be limited by the massive smoke cloud.

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The Ventura County Fire Department said several people were injured and taken to hospitals. But it was not immediately clear how they were injured. The fire crossed State Route 118 and spread into the Camarillo Heights neighborhood, prompting additional evacuations.

Details about evacuation zones and road closures were available at: www.vcemergency.com. An information line has been established at (805) 465-6650.

Meanwhile, winds also fueled a rapidly advancing wildfire near multimillion-dollar properties along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Los Angeles County Fire Department crews scrambled to contain a wildfire near Malibu’s Broad Beach as authorities closed the famous beach road. Residents were asked to shelter in place as planes dropped water on the 50-acre Large Fire area. By around 12:30 p.m., 15% was contained and forward progress was halted. Fire officials said two structures burned.

As a precaution, electricity was cut off to tens of thousands of people across the state.

The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles replaced a red flag warning of increased fire danger with a rare “especially hazardous situation” label.

With winds predicted between 50 mph and 160 mph and humidity levels as low as 8%, parts of Southern California could experience conditions ripe for “extreme and life-threatening” fire behavior by Thursday, the weather service said.

Officials in several counties urged residents to be alert for rapidly spreading fires, power outages and downed trees during the last stretch of Santa Ana winds.

Map of fires in California right now:

Our interactive map below tracks where fires are burning in California and what percentage of them are contained. Click on any fire icon to see more details about the wildfire in that area.

“Residents living in canyons, mountains and foothills should be ready to evacuate as soon as possible,” the LA County Emergency Management Office said in X. Some canyon roads were closed as a precaution and fire departments deployed resources to areas prone to fires.

In Orange County, fire officials said ash and debris were rising from the Airport Fire that ripped through the area earlier this year due to high winds, but no active fires were reported there Wednesday. Winds wreaked havoc on coastal cities, knocking down tree branches and overturning large garbage bins.

Southern California Edison also preemptively shut off power to more than 46,000 customers on Wednesday, including more than 12,000 in Los Angeles County. The company’s website stated that more than 200,000 customers were expected to have their electricity cut off due to the risk.

Utilities in California have begun shutting down power to equipment during high winds and extreme fire danger following a series of large and deadly wildfires sparked by power lines and other infrastructure in recent years.

The Broad Fire was burning in the same area where the Woolsey Fire killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes in 2018. This fire was ignited by Edison equipment that burned dry grassland and burned across the Santa Monica Mountains to the Malibu coast.