Wildfires In Southern California Force Thousands Of People To Flee - NPR

Multiple fires are burning in Southern California, claiming hundreds of structures and thousands of acres and closing many freeways and local roadways, according to state fire officials.

A wind-whipped wildfire swept into the coastal California city of Ventura early Tuesday, one day after thousands of people in Ventura County were forced to flee the blaze, which has now engulfed some 50,000 acres northwest of Los Angeles. It erupted weeks after firefighters in Northern California's wine country managed to contain the deadliest blazes in the state's history.

"This is already the most destructive fire year on record for the state," NPR's Nathan Rott reports.

Around 1,000 homes in the cities of Ventura, Santa Paula and Ojai have been evacuated, according to the Los Angeles Times. Mandatory as well as voluntary evacuations were in effect in Ventura on Tuesday, with shelters open at the Ventura County Fairgrounds and in nearby Ojai and Oxnard.

At least 150 structures have been lost in the blaze, said Ventura County Fire Department Chief Mark Lorenzen. The Times reports those include "at least one large apartment complex and the Vista Del Mar Hospital, a psychiatric facility. ... Many more were threatened."

The Thomas Fire broke out around 6:30 p.m. local time Monday northwest of the city of Santa Paula and then exploded in size overnight. Officials initially said at least one person had died as a result of the blaze but clarified Tuesday that no fatalities have been confirmed, according to the Times.

An incident report from Ventura County described the blaze as "a fast moving, active brush fire that started north of Santa Paula near Highway 150 and has burned into the city limits of Ventura and toward Highway 33." - Read More

Wildfires In Southern California Force Thousands Of People To Flee