It’s been less than a week since a wildfire broke out in Ventura County. A wind-driven wildfire has destroyed more than 130 homes and forced thousands to evacuate while firefighters battle to extinguish the blaze.
The outbreak was first reported just before 9 a.m. on Nov. 6 in the 7900 block of Balcom Canyon Road near Bradley Road, north of Highway 118 between the communities of Moorpark and Somis, and the roadway was immediately cleared. and drove through the Camarillo Heights area.
“It’s been six days since this incident happened,” Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said. “It seems like it’s been weeks, but it’s only been six days.”
Authorities believe the winds have shifted and the worst is over, and have spent the past few days working to return residents to some areas they had previously evacuated. Power companies are also working to restore electricity to homes.
The wildfire has burned 20,630 acres and is at 42% containment, according to the latest information from Cal Fire.
A television reporter films as flames from a wildfire consume a home in Camarillo, California, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) A house burns in a wildfire Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. NEAR CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) Firefighters try to extinguish a wind-driven Santa Ana wildfire that burns a house and burns acres, Nov. 6, 2024, in Camarillo, California. (Getty Images) Firefighters try to extinguish a blaze that destroyed a house as wind-driven wildfires from the Santa Ana Mountains scorch acres in Camarillo, California, November 6, 2024. (Getty Images) Wildfires can be seen from Sky5 in the early morning hours of November 7, 2024. (KTLA) Firefighter Missy Follett of the Beverly Hills Fire Department works to extinguish a house destroyed by a wildfire in Camarillo, California, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Steven Lamb/San Francisco Chronicle, via AP) Wildfire burns Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, along S. Mountain Road in Santa Paula. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles) Daily News via Getty Images) A helicopter drops water on a house burning in a wildfire near Camarillo, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Marcio (José Sanchez) Kelly Burton, left, is hugged by her family as friends arrive at her parents’ fire-ravaged property in the aftermath of a wildfire, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Camarillo, Calif. (Associated Press) Photo/ (Ethan Swope) Todd Howard, left, scavenges through the remains of his parents’ fire-ravaged property with the help of firefighters after a wildfire wipes out the forest on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024 in Camarillo, California. (AP Photo) / Ethan Swope) Photos of the Wallace family’s tricked-out classic Volvo destroyed in the Ventura County wildfires on November 6, 2024. (Viewer) Photo: Wildfire situation posted on social media by Ventura Air Force on November 7, 2024.
“We all feel comfortable and buttoned up on the mountain fire,” Chief Gardner added. “We may see some flare-ups. If you’re downwind of this fire, you may see dust and feel a lot of ash.”
Despite officials’ optimism, those who lost everything in the fire are still reeling from the experience.
“Yesterday was a real basket case,” said Jim Lingle, whose home was destroyed in the fire. “I don’t cry easily.”
Lingle’s home was one of about 200 buildings destroyed in last week’s fire. He wonders if he could have fought harder to save himself if he had stayed longer.
“They said, ‘You have to go because this whole district is going to be burned down,'” he explained to KTLA. “Looking from here, the three houses on the other side are safe.”
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Others are trying to understand how their homes survived.
“I have mixed feelings,” one resident told KTLA. “Why was my house saved and others not? It’s heartbreaking.”
Discussion has now turned to disaster relief and recovery, but residents like Lingle say they don’t know if they want to stay and rebuild.
“Well, we would like to rebuild it, but I don’t know if we can do it,” he said.
There are still areas in the area that are under evacuation orders. For the latest information, please visit https://www.vcemergency.com/.
