Firefighters are attacking a brush fire that forced evacuations Wednesday morning in a Simi Valley neighborhood near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
The 15-acre Easy Fire was reported on a hillside between Simi Valley and Moorpark during extreme red flag conditions. All homes on Tierra Rejada Road are threatened, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the following areas in the southeast Ventura County region.
- North Border: Tierra Rejada
- South Border: Olsen / Madera Street
- East Border: Madera Street
- West Border: Highway 23
The Reagan Library, perched on top of a hill overlooking parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, has extensive wildfire protection features, such a brush clearance around the property. Firefighters were positioned near the library, which was not immediately threatened by the fire.
Water-dropping aircraft were over the flames, hitting hot spots in dry hillside brush.
The Ventura County Fairgrounds is open for large animal evacuations.
Highway 23 is closed between Los Angeles Avenue and Avenida de los Arboles.
The strongest Santa Ana winds of the season, possibly in the last decade, are expected Wednesday. The winds, produced by surface high pressure over the Great Basin squeezing air down through canyons and passes in Southern California’s mountain ranges, are common in the fall and have a long history of fanning destructive wildfires in the region.
Fall is historically one of the most dangerous times of the year for wildfires in California. Seven of the state’s 10-most destructive wildfires occurred in October — many fueled by monster winds, including Santa Ana gusts.
Several schools were closed in Ventura County due to high-risk wildfire conditions. Click here for an updated list.
- ACCESS School (Moorpark)
- ACE Charter High School (Camarillo)
- Bridges Charter School (Thousand Oaks)
- Briggs School District
- CAPE Charter School (Camarillo)
- Conejo Valley Unified School District
- Fillmore Unified School District
- Moorpark Unified School District
- Mupu School District
- Pleasant Valley School District
- Santa Clara Elementary School District
- Santa Paula Unified School District
- Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School (Camarillo)
- Simi Valley Unified School District
- Triggs School (Thousand Oaks)
Photo Credit: NBCLA
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Source: NBC Los Angeles