As crews tame a fire that broke out near the bottom of the Santa Clara River in Ventura County on Monday evening, an even bigger brush fire broke out, erupting near a community, about 17 miles east, along the river.
As of 7pm, the newly dubbed Howe fire was estimated to be around 40 acres, burning over steep terrain south of the Pill community. The fire department noted that there was a high-tensile power line in the area and requested a second alarm response.
“There are a total of 140 firefighters on the scene or on the way,” VCFD wrote in X-Post. Video from the scene shows the air tanker lit up the flames. This appeared to be burning with a dry brush in the hill.
A burning Hau fire is seen in Ventura County on June 16th, 2025. (VCFD)
Just two hours ago, the VCFD responded to a brush fire called the Maria Fire, which was burning at the bottom of a river south of Santa Paula city, driven by onshore winds. The flames prompted an evacuation warning on South Mountain Road, from the east of the 12th Avenue bridge to the golf course. The warning was then cancelled.
The crew fully contained the Maria fire just before 7pm, and was estimated at around 15 acres at the end, with no reports of damaged structures or injuries, like the latest updates of VCFD.
Warnings directed at Maria’s fire Views from California cameras showed a smoke plume spreading from around 3pm to around 5pm.
A burning Maria fire is seen in Ventura County on June 16th, 2025. (Alert California) A Maria fire is seen burning in Ventura County on June 16, 2025. Ventura County (Alert California) A burning Howe fire is seen in Ventura County on June 16, 2025.
As of 7:30pm, no structure was threatened by the Howe fire.
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