Woolsey Fire Flare Up Reported Near Westlake Village

AGOURA HILLS, CA – A major flare-up of the Woolsey Fire has been reported in the Westlake Village area, near Lake Sherwood in the Santa Monica Mountains, where a large plume of smoke is visible, along with active flames.

Fire officials said the flare-up was initially reported at about 50 acres, but it was growing rapidly thanks to large amounts of unburned brush and gusting winds. Within an hour, there were reports that the flare-up had spread across as many as 1,000 acres, although fire officials had not yet given an official size estimate.

Aerial firefighting equipment was quickly dispatched to the remote area of the burn. There were no reports of structures being immediately threatened by the flare-up. The flare-up dampened some hopes that had been raised about an hour earlier when the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced the lifting of evacuation orders for a series of areas.

The flare-up started sometime before 9 a.m. in the fire's burn area off Potrero Road near Lake Sherwood, CBS Los Angeles reported. The Ventura County Fire Department reported at around 9:30 a.m. that residents of the Lake Sherwood, Carlisle Canyon and Boney Mountain areas should be prepared to evacuate.

Tuesday morning around 8:30 a.m., the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said parts of Westlake Village could begin to repopulate after they were evacuated, according to an LASD Nixle alert.

The Woolsey Fire, which ignited last Thursday, has burned 96,314 acres, destroyed at least 435 structures, damaged another 24 structures and about 57,000 structures are considered still threatened.

As of about 7 a.m. Tuesday, the blaze was 35 percent contained, with full containment not expected until Thursday, Cal Fire said. Two people who died on the fire were found inside a burned vehicle in a long driveway in the 33000 block of Mulholland Highway.

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