Evacuations had been ordered on the Cal State Channel Islands campus Thursday morning when a brush fireplace broke out within the Camarillo space in Ventura County.
Firefighters and water-dropping plane responded to the Laguna Hearth at about 9 a.m. off Laguna Highway within the Oxnard plains. The hearth was estimated at 15 acres with a speedy price of unfold in medium brush.
Water-dropping plane responded to the hillside coated in dry brush, positioned simply west of the CSU Channel Islands campus and about 60 miles west of downtown Los Angeles
Winds had been gusting at 20 mph to 30 mph within the space.
#lagunafire; #VCFD is on scene of an roughly 2 acre brush fireplace off of Laguna Highway within the Oxnard plains. Arriving models report fireplace is in medium brush with a speedy price of unfold. Firefighters are aggressively attacking the fireplace from the air and floor with further… pic.twitter.com/qYz2nLj8ql
— VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) January 23, 2025
The hearth began on a day of purple flag warnings in Ventura County and Los Angeles County, the place firefighters had been gaining floor on three main fires.
The area is beneath extreme to excessive drought situations after a dry begin to the moist season in Southern California. After two seasons of above-average rainfall, a months-long dry spell left hillsides coated in dry brush, offering gasoline for wildfires.
Below a purple flag warning, any fires that do begin usually tend to unfold at a speedy price behind sturdy winds. Flying embers additionally pace a brush fireplace’s unfold. Highly effective gusts can solid scorching embers for miles, beginning spot fires forward of the primary fireplace line in a nightmare state of affairs for firefighters.
