Somis brush fire grows to 2,900 acres, evacuation orders lifted

Firefighters made good progress Sunday on a nearly 3,000-acres brush fire on South Mountain between Somis and Santa Paula.

The blaze ignited Saturday morning in a remote, mountainous area with some petroleum operations, communications towers and agricultural uses.

One outbuilding had been destroyed, but no injuries were reported by Sunday, said Capt. Brian McGrath, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. The cause of the fire was still under investigation, he said.

The fire had burned around 2,944 acres as of Sunday morning, up around 500 acres from Saturday's total of 2,444. But the blaze was 15% contained, up from zero containment the previous day.

McGrath said he expected the containment figure to quickly improve.

"The weather and the hard work of the firefighters really paid off," he said around 1 p.m. Sunday. "If you look out, you don't see much smoke."

The fire began as Santa Ana winds whipped through Ventura County. The National Weather Service issued a red-flag warning from 8 a.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Sunday because wind gusts were expected to reach as high as 60 mph and the weather was dry.

Because of the weather, Southern California Edison had warned of public safety power shutoffs, in which the utility company de-energizes lines to avoid issues with lines sparking and causing fires.

Progress made

Overnight, the winds subsided, aiding fire crews on the line. Their efforts kept the blaze's growth to a minimum, fire officials said.

Several helicopters worked throughout the night to extinguish hotspots and build containment lines around the perimeter, according to the county's website, https://www.vcemergency.com.

The fire also erupted mostly within the same footprint as the 2019 Maria Fire, McGrath said. As such, the flames had less vegetation to feed on. The Maria Fire stretched out to about 10,000 acres before it was all over.

"Right now, we've got a pretty good handle on it, and the forward progress has been stopped," he said.

McGrath said fire officials are pretty confident the fire won't grow or move anywhere. Firefighters Sunday were attacking the fire with handlines, engine crews and helicopters, he said.

Fire officials had been diligent and careful getting to hotspots.

"The reason that the containment isn't higher is because we haven't had the opportunity to be everywhere along every edge of the line," the fire captain said.

Evacuation orders lifted

At its worst, the fire threatened areas in Somis, Saticoy and Santa Paula. Evacuation orders or warnings were issued throughout the day Saturday. At one point, the county set up a shelter at Ventura College.

The evacuation orders were in effect in the Somis area and the Mission Rock Road area in Santa Paula, but both were lifted at 8 a.m., officials said. An evacuation warning in effect for the area around Saticoy Country Club was expected to be lifted by 5 p.m. Sunday.

How it began

The blaze was first reported around 9:40 a.m. around South Mountain Road and South 12th Street. The fire was putting out significant smoke in the area.

Shortly after 10 a.m., the fire reached nearly 4 acres. By 6:15 p.m., the fire reached 2,444 acres with 0% containment, according to fire officials. Crews with night vision capabilities were expected to work through the night.

As evening approached, the winds shifted from the south-facing side of the mountain to the north, moving the fire toward Santa Paula.

Any additional updates may be posted on www.vcemergency.com.

This story may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Update: Progress made on Somis brush fire