The helicopter view given in this first link shows the magnitude of these fires (watch until the end as the camera zooms out]
'Out of Control' Wildfire in Southern California Forces Thousands to Evacuate [Video]
Powerful photos from the Southern California wildfires capture devastation - SFGate
A fast-moving, wind-fueled wildfire swept into the city of Ventura early Tuesday, burning 50,000 acres, destroying homes and forcing more than 27,000 people to evacuate.
About 3,000 homes were evacuated, a firefighter was injured and Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Ventura County on Tuesday morning, as some 1,000 personnel continued to battle the Thomas fire.
Firefighters had not achieved any containment on the fire as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, as authorities expanded mandatory and voluntary evacuation areas and opened new shelters throughout the county.
“This fire is very dangerous and spreading rapidly, but we'll continue to attack it with all we've got,” Brown said. “It's critical residents stay ready and evacuate immediately if told to do so.”
The state sent resources to help with firefighting efforts. Ventura County officials have asked the state for eight fixed-wing firefighting aircraft to help douse the flames, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Donoghue.
At least 150 structures — including at least one large apartment complex and the Vista Del Mar Hospital, a psychiatric facility — were consumed by flames, and many more were threatened.
The blaze started about 6:25 p.m. Monday in the foothills near Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, a popular hiking destination. It grew wildly to more than 15 square miles in the hours that followed — consuming vegetation that hasn't burned in decades, Ventura County Fire Sgt. Eric Buschow said.
“The burn area is pretty much all the mountains between Ventura and Ojai and extending east to Santa Paula,” said Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Kevin Donoghue. “It’s a challenge because of the enormity of it and it’s a challenge because it’s pretty rugged terrain.”
Power outages also caused problems for firefighters Monday night and rendered some pumping systems inoperable, said Ventura County Fire Capt. Steve Kaufmann. Some hydrants couldn’t get water pumped to them because there was no power, he said.
At one point in Ojai, the entire water system went down, including hydrants and drinking water, because a pumping system was damaged by the fire, Kaufmann said.
On Tuesday morning the water district had sent people to Ventura to repair the problems, but he did not know status of the repair.
“It definitely presented a challenge to us,” he said.
By 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, authorities had ordered a mandatory evacuation of the entire community of Casitas Springs, northwest of Ventura. The evacuation area spreads from the northern portion of Highway 33 into Ojai, said Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Stan Ziegler. The county also issued a voluntary evacuation order for all parts of Ojai Valley not under mandatory evacuation.
In addition to the Ventura County Fairgrounds in Ventura and Nordhoff High School in Ojai, evacuation centers have been set up at the Oxnard College gymnasium and Santa Paula Community Center.
The size of the fire will likely grow, Ziegler said. Authorities are still seeing “erratic fire behavior and erratic winds so it’s making the firefight very difficult," Ziegler said.
Southern California has been under red-flag weather conditions since Monday, with “the strongest and longest duration Santa Ana wind event we have seen so far this season” expected through at least Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
The dry, gusty Santa Ana winds will continue for at least the next three days, the National Weather Service said.
“Generally, it’s awful fire weather today, tomorrow and Thursday,” said Forecaster Ryan Kittell. “The winds we’re seeing right now are … plenty strong to drive a fire.”
It doesn’t matter that the winds are relatively cool compared to typical Santa Anas because wind gusts are so powerful and dry, he said.
At least 1,000 homes in Ventura, Santa Paula and Ojai were evacuated.
More than 260,000 customers in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties lost power as the fire raged. By noon Tuesday 15,000 homes in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties were still without power, said Southern California Edison spokesman Paul Netter.
More homes may lose power as the fires continue to spread, and some may be without power for days, Netter said.
A growing wildfire in Santa Clarita has burned 1,000 acres, prompting the evacuation Tuesday of thousands of homes and several area schools as an enormous cloud of smoke rose over the area.
The city of Santa Clarita announced on its emergency website that evacuations were ordered for 1,300 homes in the Westridge area and in schools on Valencia Boulevard in Stevenson Ranch. Students at West Ranch High School and Rancho Pico Junior High were being evacuated to College of the Canyons.
“Traffic is jammed in the area,” the city said. “Parents are being asked to go to College of the Canyons and not try and go to the schools. Oak Hills Elementary parents have been asked to pick up their kids from the school immediately.”
The Valencia Travel Village motor home park near Highway 126 has also been evacuated, according to Sgt. Wayne Waterman of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station.
He said the Rye fire is moving west.
The blaze erupted around 9:30 a.m. at Rye Canyon Loop, authorities said.
It grew to 200 acres by 10:50 a.m., and had zero containment, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Joey Marron.
Strong wind gusts of up to 60 mph fanned fire. By early afternoon 1,000 acres had been charred.
The fast-moving flames forced closure of the 5 Freeway at Highway 126 on Tuesday morning.
Thousands of tractor trailer trucks and automobiles idled in bumper-to-bumper gridlock on the freeway, the primary link between Los Angeles and California’s Central Valley.
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