As Santa Ana winds gusted, crews responded to multiple fires in Ventura and Los Angeles counties this week and Southern California Edison shutoff power for tens of thousands of customers.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for most local areas from Oct. 15-17, with the forecast calling for critical fire conditions. The strongest winds were expected in Ventura and Los Angeles counties through Friday afternoon, with gusts reaching up to 70 mph in spots.
Locally, firefighters responded to reports of a fire in the 600 block of Cornell Road in the Santa Paula area shortly after 1 p.m. on Oct. 15. The Cornell Fire was burning in an area south of Highway 126 near Peck Road. Authorities lifted an evacuation warning for a nearby area around 2:30 p.m.
By 3 p.m., firefighters responded to a second small blaze in the area. The spot fire was reported off East Guiberson Road in the Fillmore area, and initial reports indicated a couple of engine crews could douse the flames.
A little over an hour later, the Bryson Fire erupted in Los Angeles County near Malibu.
Bryson Fire ignites near Malibu
Around 4:30 p.m., the blaze was reported in the 400 block of Encinal Canyon Road in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The fire had burned an estimated 101.5 acres as of 6:30 p.m. and Los Angeles County issued evacuation warnings and orders for nearby areas. The zones were located east of the Ventura County line.
As of 9:30 p.m., authorities said the fire had grown to an estimated 200 acres, but was later mapped at 147 acres. By early Friday morning, officials reported 17% containment of the blaze as they faced a second day of gusty Santa Ana winds.
Smoke from the blaze had been visible in Ventura County, but the fire remained entirely within Los Angeles County. It did not currently pose a threat to local areas, authorities said Friday. The Ventura County Fire Department had sent equipment and personnel to help with the firefight.
By late Friday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported the blaze remained at 147 acres and was 39% contained.
Edison shuts off power for thousands
Edison had shut off power for more than 56,000 local customers and an additional 68,000 mostly in neighboring Los Angeles and Kern counties, as of Friday afternoon – part of the utility company's preventative outages, called Public Safety Power Shutoffs.
Locally, the utility company shut off power in circuits in and around Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ventura and Piru. The company also continued to monitor dozens of other circuits that included more than 100,000 customers countywide.
The shutoffs are designed to de-energize electrical circuits to prevent problems from debris and trees blowing into power lines, the company said. If an outage happens, the power likely won’t go on as soon as the wind dies down.
Lines could be damaged or branches could be on them, according to Edison. Crews have to patrol an area before restoring power and fix any issues, officials said.
By late Friday, the numbers had started to inch down. Around 46,000 customers remained without power because of the preventative outages, the company reported.
Forecast calls for Santa Anas to continue
The red flag warning was expected to remain in effect through 8 p.m. Saturday.
In addition to gusty Santa Ana winds, temperatures climbed and humidity levels dropped. The combination of the gusty winds and low humidity means wildfires can start easier and spread faster.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services posted a list on vcemergency.com of local resource centers, from Oxnard to Piru, that include access to water, snacks and charging banks to plug-in devices.
More information about potential power outages is available at sce.com/psps. For a map of areas being monitored or outages, visit sce.com/outage-center/check-outage-status.
Visit vcemergency.com for information about the Santa Ana winds and current fires. To sign up for emergency alerts, go to readyventuracounty.org/vc-alert/.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at [email protected].