Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate Monday as a wind-driven wildfire threatened suburban homes in Southern California.
The Sandy Fire was reported around 10 a.m. in hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
By evening, it had consumed more than 1,300 acres of dry brush and damaged at least one home, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
The flames were pushed by morning gusts that topped 30 mph but were subsiding later in the day, department spokesperson Scott Dettorre said.
“As the sun sets, those winds will calm down even more,” he said.
Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for 10,000 homes in Simi Valley and in area communities such as Bell Canyon and Santa Susana, according to a statement from the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom and according to information from the Ventura County government. An additional 3,500 homes were under evacuation warnings, the governor’s office said in a statement.
Simi Valley is a city of more than 125,000 people that was shrouded in smoke as helicopters performed water drops. Dettorre didn’t know exactly how many people were ordered to leave.
Evacuation warnings followed the flames as they moved southeast, the Ventura County Fire Department said. Parts of the city of Los Angeles, including portions of West Hills and Chatsworth, were placed under such warnings Monday night.
Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement that city fire officials don’t expect the blaze to spread to Los Angeles, but that warnings were being issued anyway “out of an abundance of caution.”
The statement from Newsom’s office said California on Monday secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will be used to ensure a robust firefighting response to the Sandy Fire.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, perched on a Simi Valley hillside a few miles away from the fire, said it was closed for the day because of the fire.
The cause is under investigation.
Meanwhile, firefighters were battling a 14,520-acre blaze on Santa Rosa Island, the second-largest of the Channel Islands off the Southern California coast. The fire destroyed a cabin and an equipment shed and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees.
The island was closed to visitors Monday evening, the fire’s federal incident command said.
Santa Rosa, a popular destination for camping and hiking, is home to island foxes, spotted skunks and elephant seals.
