On Thursday afternoon, 600-acre brush fires in Ventura County caused evacuations in the pill and its surrounding area, placing communities nearby in the Santa Clarita Valley in high alert amid a major heat wave warning that officials could promote the growth and action of the extreme fire.
Ventura County officials said the canyon fire broke out near Holther Canyon Road, northeast of the pill, around 2pm. The fire was initially reported to be around 30 acres, but within an hour the estimate jumped to 600 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention.
Fire departments in both Ventura and Los Angeles County were responding to the scene.
The fire was growing rapidly as of 3pm, according to the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service. Officials there said the area is facing temperatures up to 100 degrees.
Ventura County officials issued evacuation orders to the recreation area of Lake Pill, as well as the communities south, towards the east of the Pill and Line. Several communities in the southwestern part of Castaic in LA County had been given evacuation warnings, according to the county’s evacuation map.
Authorities said the fire appears to be away from Piru, but it threatened the Hasley Canyon community in LA County and the power lines in the area, according to Cal Fire.
Over 100 firefighters and seven helicopters were there to accommodate them.
The Canyon Fire is the fourth major flame in the area recently, including the Gifford Fire burning across the Santa Barbara San Luis Obispo County line. The fire that caught last week was the largest in California, the largest in California, with more than 98,000 acres this year.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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