Easy Fire Live Updates: 1,600-Acre Blaze Forces Mass Evacuations

SIMI VALLEY, CA — An explosive 1,650-acre brush fire ripped through parts of Simi Valley, threatening 7,000 homes along with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. More than 26,000 people in Simi Valley, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks were forced to flee their homes Wednesday morning as the most intense wind storm in a decade blew the flames toward their hillside communities.

The fire broke out shortly after 6 a.m. near the 118 Freeway and Madera Street. Driven by intense wind gusts, it quickly spread to more than 1,600 acres, giving residents of the nearby Simi Valley community just moments to evacuate. The blaze is being driven toward the the 23 Freeway, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

By Wednesday evening, it had reached 1,650 acres with containment remaining at zero percent, authorities said.

Several out buildings had been destroyed by midday as well as a home on Tierra Rejada, said Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen. There have been no injuries reported nor word of a possible cause of the fire.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Southern California Edison confirmed that the fire broke out near one of its live sub-transmission lines. Authorities said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

"Fuels were ripe and ready to cary fire. The fire is still moving pretty quickly," said Lorenzen. "Unfortunately for us, the winds are going to continue for probably the next 24 hours."

See Also: Flames Surround Reagan Presidential Library

Lorenzen implored residents in the surrounding communities to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice and to heed evacuation orders.

Ventura County Fire Department Assistant Chief Chad Cook, the Easy Fire's incident commander, described a morning of intense firefighting.

"The fire outflanked us very rapidly today pushed by those 40 to 50 mph winds. We did experience gusts up to 65 mph hour this morning, which made long range spotting very, very dangerous and also quickly outpaced the initial attack resources," said Cook. "Our plan of action out there is to get people out of harm’s way."

Evacuations:

• Mandatory evacuations: West to Highway 23, North to Tierra Rejada, East of Madera, South of Olsen and Madera Sunset Hills
• Voluntary evacuations: East of Highway 23, West of Moorpark Road, South of Olsen Road, North of Read Road

Road Closures:

• Highway 23 between Avenida De Los Arboles and Los Angeles Avenue Moorpark Road at Tierra Rejada Road Santa Rosa at Moorpark

A shelter has been set up at the Thousand Oaks Community Center at 2525 N. Moorpark Road.

All schools in the Simi Valley Unified School District are canceled Wednesday due to the blaze.

The following streets have been evacuated t due to proximity to the fire:

• Algonquin
• Jerimiah
• Stargaze
• Siskin
• Mandan
• Moorpark Road
• Read Road
• East Olsen Road

The Simi Valley Police Department and the California Highway Patrol are assisting the Ventura County Fire Department in evacuating the community.

The fire is being driven by some of the most intense Santa Ana winds of the season. The National Weather Service issued an "extreme" fire danger red flag warning, which went into effect at 11 p.m. Tuesday, amid predictions some mountain areas could be blasted with gusts of up to 80 mph.

The warning covers the bulk of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and will remain in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday.

"The peak of the event is expected to be Wednesday when damaging wind gusts between 50 and 70 mph will be likely for the wind-prone areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, with isolated gusts to 80 mph in the mountains," according to the weather service. "This Santa Ana wind event will likely be the strongest we have seen so far this season. These strong winds combined with a long duration of single- digit humidities and dry fuels will likely bring very critical fire weather conditions, making this an extreme red flag warning event."

The explosive fire is licking the hillside around Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which holds the artifacts of the Reagan administration, including his Air Force One plane. According to the Los Angeles Times, helicopters dropped loads of water around the library as 60-mph winds whipped up flames around it and superscoopers dropped enough water to create a smokey rainbow over the museum.

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City News Service contributed to this report.