Evacuation Order evacuation orders as firefighters make progress on canyon fires

Firefighters continue to fight wildfires on hills near the Los Angeles and Ventura County lines, allowing thousands of evacuated residents to return home Friday night as public health officials warned over the weekend that the area might have unhealthy air.

By 6 p.m. Friday, crew members reached 28% containment on the 5,370-acre canyon fire near Canstey, which broke out in a heat wave Thursday and destroyed at least two buildings and injured three firefighters, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

According to Andrew Dowd, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department, the evacuation order has been downgraded to a warning, which affected about 14,000 residents.

“We have made tremendous progress in this fire; we are proud of the hard work that men and women on the ground have done,” Moral said. “I think residents of the area can thank the firefighters who come here to serve them.”

Moral said that at 6:20 pm, a car rolled over at the fire scene and a person was taken to the hospital for treatment. The Ventura County Fire Department is investigating the situation around the incident and has not said whether the injured person was a firefighter.

According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, smoke from the canyon fire caused unhealthy air quality in Los Angeles County, mainly in the Highway 5 corridor near Castaic Lake. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has issued a smoke consultation until 11 a.m. Sunday and urges everyone to see or smell the smoke to limit or avoid outdoor activities.

Ventura County officials said the fire was lit by 2 p.m. Thursday – a peak of around 100 degrees – in northeast Piru, a small town not far from the junction of Castaic. It then sued East, threatening the home and temporarily prompted the evacuation orders for the Los Angeles County community in Waldshire, Hasley Canyon and castaic.

Moral says that using the cool temperatures from Thursday night to Friday morning, crew members were able to fight the fast-growing fires that grew to thousands of acres in a few hours. But he said the struggle forward remains challenging given the hot weather, rough terrain and barbecue landscape, which together contributed to extreme fire growth.

“We’re seeing some outbreaks everywhere in the fire,” Moral said Friday morning. “We still have record fuel moisture in the area, so we won’t let our guards go”.

Moral says two small structures have been confirmed, possibly sheds or outbuildings. Officials have not confirmed any damaged houses or businesses, but videos at the scene show some buildings being destroyed or swallowed up flames. It is not clear whether the two small buildings will cause additional damage.

Moral said he expects that as firefighters doubling the work done so far, “so patrols, sweeps, strengthen the containment lines, address hotspots and fl disorders, and continue to provide structural defense and structural protection for properties that may be at risk.”

Residents in the Cape Verde area said flames could be seen from the nearby western edge on Thursday, but the threat seemed to calm down a little Friday morning, despite the dense soot and ash in the air.

“There’s a lot of smoke. The air is really, really bad,” said Jennifer Elkins, president of Val Verde Civic Assn. Her neighborhood was under evacuation order Thursday afternoon but was able to return home on Friday.

“We’re just locking in and watching things closely,” Elkins said. “It’s a very tough fire season and I’m really glad that the fire department really takes every fire seriously. … It’s a big threat to the community.”

The Canyon Fire quickly became one of the biggest fires that sparked amid the violent fires in Southern California. In the northern part of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, the Gifford Fire burned 100,000 acres.

Unfortunately for firefighters on the ground, temperatures are expected to last through the weekend, although temperatures may drop by one or two degrees.

Mike Wofford, a meteorologist at Oxnard National Meteorological Service, said the peak was expected to peak at 98 degrees around the canyon fire on Friday, and the heat, low humidity and cold landscape will continue to cause higher fire conditions over the weekend.

“This has matured fires and fires,” Wolfder said.

A handmade crew fights in the canyon fire in Castaic.

(Eric Thayer/Getty Image)

“Although several degrees of cooling are expected throughout the weekend, air quality will remain in place. Onshore flow regimes will prevent temperatures from exceeding record levels, but temperatures are expected to remain above seasonal normal as high pressures in the southwest of the United States are getting higher and higher.”

According to Ventura County officials, the fire was reported to be about 30 acres initially but it was estimated to jump to 1,000 acres in about two hours. By midnight, it had been spread over 4,856 acres and racing eastward towards castaic and Los Angeles County Highway 5. On Friday, it added another 514 acres.

More than 400 firefighters have been assigned to the incident, according to fire officials.

A resident squirts at his home as firefighters prepare to fight the canyon fire in Castaic.

(Eric Thayer/Getty Image)

The ACLU’s concern about the fire’s proximity to the pitching detention center has raised concerns, where about 5,000 inmates are placed in four prisons. The center is located east of Highway 5 and landed outside the evacuation warning area on the first night of the fire.

Senior clerk attorney Melissa Camacho said she was “very worried” about the growing fire.

“The Hughes fire in January burned within half a mile of the prison and no one was evacuated,” Camacho told the Times. “It’s heartbreaking that less than eight months later, 5,000 people and loved ones in the prison will spend another sleepless night watching the fire and praying that it hasn’t reached them.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which operates the facility, said it is actively monitoring the fire conditions and has been communicating with firefighters and county officials.

“Similar to the evacuation plan implemented by Pepperdine University in Malibu, the fire department recommends that the employment strategy for guardians and prisoners is the safest option given the type of construction of the building and the current fire behavior,” agency spokesman Nicole Nishida said in a statement. She said the area around the building has been cleared and has broad defensive space.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that the state has received support from federal emergency authorities to help pay for the fight against the fire. FEMA said Fire Management aid grants could provide federal funding for up to 75% of qualified firefighting expenses, including field camps, equipment use, supplies and mobilization costs, and demobilization activities.