High winds forecasted as firefighters battle Post Fire in Southern California

This story will be updated. Please check back.

A brush fire off Interstate 5 near Gorman that grew to 15,610 acres Monday morning and burned hundreds of acres in Ventura County was 8% contained, officials said.

The fire, dubbed the Post Fire, started in Los Angeles County and entered Ventura County near Hungry Valley late Saturday night, burning into wilderness in the southeastern portion of the Los Padres National Forest, the Ventura County Fire Department said.

The fire initially erupted around 1:45 p.m. Saturday near the small community of Gorman in northwest LA County, near the border with Kern and Ventura counties. It quickly grew to thousands of acres, according to Los Angeles County fire and sheriff reports. The cause remained under investigation.

California State Parks evacuated about 1,200 people from the Hungry Valley park Saturday, fire officials said. Pyramid Lake had been closed due to fire threat. Two commercial properties had been damaged and two remained under threat, fire officials said.

By Monday, approximately 130 Ventura County firefighters were on scene with a total of 1,148 firefighters assigned to the incident, said Andy VanSciver, a spokesman for Ventura County Fire. On Sunday afternoon, the fire was 2% contained.

The fire was burning in a remote area of the Los Padres National Forest in steep terrain, VanSciver said. Aircraft was being used to knock down hot spots and hand crews are building fire containment lines, he said.

One person camping in Hungry Valley suffered minor burn injuries from the fire and was taken to a hospital, VanSciver said.

The National Weather Service had also issued a red flag warning Monday, indicating a heightened wildfire risk, VanSciver said.

The red flag warning, in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday, forecasted gusty northwest to north winds shifting to the northeast combining with low to very low humidity for the Interstate 5 corridor in northwest Los Angeles County and the Ventura County mountains, according to the weather service.

The weather service also issued a high-wind warning with winds from 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph until 3 a.m. Tuesday.

Smoke from the fire was expected to affect air quality in Ventura County and beyond.

The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District issued an air quality alert Monday morning because of the unhealthy conditions, saying the issue would affect sensitive groups in the Simi Valley area with the potential to reach unhealthy levels for all in the overnight and morning hours.

The alert was expected to stay in effect until conditions improve.

Andrew Madsen, a spokesman with Los Padres National Forest, said the blaze had only really crept into a small portion of the national forest but their U.S. Forest Service crews were among the many agencies assisting.

Much of the land burning is part of the Angeles National Forest, Madsen noted, but the terrain is similar to neighboring federal land. It's steep, rugged, and filled with chaparral and scrub brush, he said.

The past two rainy seasons have also seeded a "bumper crop" of grass, which he described as a "flashy fuel." The grass carries the fire into the thicker vegetation. The fire was also being fanned by winds, which can be unpredictable, Madsen said.

"That's always the wildcard in any of this," he said.

An evacuation order was in place Monday for areas west of Interstate 5 between Pyramid Lake and Gorman, including the Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area. Evacuation warnings remained in place for communities south of Hungry Valley.

A unified command with Los Angeles County and Ventura County fire departments and the U.S. Forest Service is overseeing the incident. Authorities directed people to www.vcemergency.com for more information on the fire and evacuations.

Kathleen Wilson covers courts, mental health and local government issues for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-206-8805. Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California wildfire: Post Fire at 15,610 acres, 8% contained