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Flames threatened homes in Ventura County Friday; 4,000 of them were evacuated.
LOS ANGELES — Walls of wind-driven fire swept across Ventura County on Friday, forcing thousands of home evacuations, shutting down schools and offices and ravaging acres of woodland as firefighters struggled for a second day to bring an ominously early California wildfire under control.
There were no reports of injuries or homes destroyed as the heat abated and fierce winds began tapering off Friday evening. But the intensity and early arrival of the year's first major wildfire — months before such fires normally break out, just a few weeks after the end of the rainy season — offered a worrisome sign of what appears to be a severe fire season on the horizon.
Firefighters were confronting a troubling combination of bad factors that the state escaped in recent years, namely tinderbox conditions created by record-low rainfalls and brisk and fast-switching winds known as Santa Anas, infamously dry and hot.
"It's burning out of control," said Bill Nash, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. "We are in a very serious situation. We are getting a wind shift right now." He said firefighters were forced to repeatedly redeploy in response to dangerously moving winds.
The fire engulfed more than 18,000 acres, up from 10,000 acres Friday morning, from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Coast Highway. More than 1,000 firefighters, dressed in yellow protective gear, fanned out across the mountains to battle the blaze. Eight helicopters dropped water on the fire, while six air tankers blanketed the area with fire retardants.
"It's raining ash in Camarillo," said Megan Hook, 32, who was, under firefighters' orders, locked in her home on Thursday, with windows and doors shut, because of fears of toxic fumes from the fire burning at a nearby farm. "We've got ash everywhere, and the air quality is awful."
Erin Petrick Bell, 35, said she returned home Thursday after dropping off her 5-year-old twins at school and began packing a bag, in what she thought was an act of unnecessary caution because the fire seemed some distance away.
"I thought I was being a little paranoid," she said. "When I went upstairs and opened the closet to figure out what to pack, I noticed everything in my house was glowing orange. The fire was on the mountain right behind our house.
"It was basically behind my house in minutes," she said. "I literally only had time to grab a couple things."
Officials said that 4,000 homes had been evacuated and that 15 had sustained damage. An eight-mile patch of the Pacific Coast Highway was closed. As of Friday afternoon, the fire was described as 20 percent contained.
Wildfires are common in Southern California, but they usually do not break out until late summer. The hot winds that have whipped the region this week normally do not arrive until fall.
The skies over Camarillo, at the heart of the fire, billowed with gray smoke as walls of fire moved through the dry brush and forest. At one point, firefighters turned their attention to preventing the flames from reaching the naval base at Point Mugu, though officials said the risk there had appeared to diminish.
Evacuation orders were posted throughout the day. California State University Channel Islands, in Camarillo, was evacuated as flames came over the hills. Students were sent home or to a Red Cross shelter as fire debris settled on the red tile roof.
"It essentially came right up to our buildings," said Nancy Gill, who is in charge of media relations at the 5,000-student college.
Matt Kettmann contributed reporting from Santa Barbara, Calif.
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