Blaze grows overnight in ferocious winds and could soon threaten city of 100,000 people

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Nearly 8,000 homes have been evacuated in southern California after ferocious winds whipped up an explosive wildfire that could soon threaten a city of more than 100,000.

The blaze broke out on Monday evening east of Santa Paula, which is about 60 miles north-west of Los Angeles. It grew to more than 100 sq km (40 sq miles) by the early hours of Tuesday, consuming vegetation that has not burned in decades, the Ventura county fire sergeant Eric Buschow said.

Evacuation orders were expanded to include homes in Ventura, a city 12 miles south-west of Santa Paula, with more than 100,000 residents.

“The fire growth is just absolutely exponential,” the Ventura county fire chief, Mark Lorenzen, said. “All that firefighters can do when we have winds like this is get out ahead, evacuate people, and protect structures.”



Thomas Aquinas college, which has about 350 students, has also been evacuated, with students going to their own homes or to those of faculty and staff, the college said in a statement.

One person was killed in a car accident associated with the fire, officials said. They gave no further details. At least two structures have burned so far, sheriff’s officials said.

Winds exceeding 40mph and gusts of more than 60mph have been reported in the area and were expected to continue, the National Weather Service said.

Firefighters and aircraft from neighbouring Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties were pouring in to help, though the darkness and winds forced the grounding of planes late on Monday night.

Southern California Edison said nearly 180,000 customers in the Ventura county area were without service.