A wildfire in Ventura County continued northward overnight after destroying more than 100 homes and burning more than 20,000 acres.
On Friday, crews fighting fires from the ground and in the air will no longer have to deal with the powerful Santa Ana winds that fuel the fires, but it’s not all good.
With the end of the Santa Ana wind system, “further fire growth is a concern to the north and east as onshore flow returns,” Cal Fire said in an incident update Thursday night.
As of Friday morning, Cal Fire reported at 5:51 a.m. that the fire had burned 20,485 acres and was 7% contained.
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Damage assessment teams said Thursday that 132 homes were destroyed in the fire.
Among them was a midcentury home that had been owned by the Wallace family for more than 60 years.
An old photo of the Wallace home before it was destroyed by the Ventura County wildfires on November 6, 2024. (Viewer photo) A photo of the Wallace family’s classic Volvo destroyed in the Ventura County wildfires on November 6, 2024. June 6, 2024. (Viewer photo) A wildfire burns along S Mountain Trail in Santa Paula on Thursday, November 7, 2024. (Hans) Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images) Marvin Meador searches his fire-ravaged home after a wildfire wipes out Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024 in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo) / Ethan Swope) Marvin Thursday, November 7, 2024 Mr. Meador walks over the remains of his fire-ravaged property after a wildfire started. CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) Tiffany Hobelman leads her horse named Koshan out of the pen at Swan Hill Ranch as the wildfire burns in Moorpark, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) ) Flames from the Mountain Fire ricochet along a hillside as horses gallop in their pens at Swan Hill Farm in Moorpark. California, Thursday, November 7, 2024 (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Destroyed homes stand amid hills smoldering in wildfires, Wednesday, November 6, 2024, Camarillo, California (AP Photo/Ethan Swope ) Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies push a vintage car away from a burning house during a wildfire in Camarillo, California, on Wednesday. Nov. 6, 2024 (AP Photo/Noah Berger) A helicopter drops water on a burning house during a wildfire Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, near Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Wildfire burns home near Camarillo, California, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 (AP Photo/ (Ethan Swope) Wildfire burns home as wildfire burns home, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Wind-driven Santa Ana wildfire burns several acres in Camarillo, Calif. Firefighters are trying to extinguish the fire that is burning the building. , November 6, 2024. (ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images)
“Yesterday we watched it burn for three hours,” Tara Wallace, who lives in Camarillo Heights with her husband Brian Wallace, told KTLA. “It was a beautiful house with a beautiful view of a beautiful city, and now it’s reduced to ashes.”
The number of destroyed homes is expected to rise as inspectors continue their work Friday.
More than 10,000 residents remain under evacuation orders. A complete list of evacuation orders and evacuation zones can be found at vcemergency.com.
The shelter was opened at Padre Sera Parish, 5205 Upland Road. In Camarillo.
On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in response to the wildfires and announced that FEMA had approved grants to help fight the fires.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
