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MALIBU, Calif. (CNS) – A bush fire erupted in Ventura County, but crossed the lines of Los Angeles County and caused a relentless rush of moisture, continuing a ruthless march toward the Pacific Ocean on Friday. Forcing thousands of people to leave their homes evacuation orders were imposed for the Malibu set.
The Woolsey fire exploded beyond 10,000 acres in one night, then was estimated at 14,000 on Friday noon, with no restraint. Driven by winds ranging from 50 to 100 km / h, the flames jumped south across the Ventura Expressway (101) into the Liberty Canyon area early Friday.
The flames devoured the houses as she continued to gnaw the undergrowth, but it was not known in the immediate future how many structures had been affected. On Friday morning, the authorities indicated that significant material losses had been suffered. Fire brigades in a single area of Malibu reported that 30 houses had been burned by the flames and that the fire had escalated on dozens more.
Sporadic cases have been reported indicating that people could not escape burning houses in remote areas, but Friday morning in the morning, no injuries were reported on firefighters or residents.
Evacuation orders were imposed overnight, affecting tens of thousands of residents in both counties. On Friday, at 10 am, the mandatory evacuation orders were extended to the entire city of Malibu. This order includes the area south of Highway 101 from the east boundary of Ventura County to Old Topanga Canyon Road, and south to the Pacific Ocean.
Residents were asked to use the Pacific Coast Highway to evacuate and avoid the canyon roads. Evacuees were directed south from PCH to Santa Monica, creating a rumbling of vehicles along the normally picturesque coastal road. The traffic lights that went out of service complicated things, and motorists were advised to wait for long delays.
Mandatory evacuations had already been issued north of Highway 101, between Valley Vista and Adobe Reyes, in the Agoura Hills, Calabasas and Westlake Village areas.
The American Red Cross has announced that the nearest evacuation center for Malibu residents is located at Palisades High School, 15777 St. Bowdoin, in the Pacific Palisades. An evacuation center was also established at Taft High School, 5461 Winnetka Ave. at Woodland Hills.
An animal evacuation center was opened Friday morning at Hansen Dam, 11770 Foothill Blvd. at Lake View Terrace, after the Pierce College evacuation center in Woodland Hills has reached full capacity. And a large animal evacuation center has been established at the Zuma Beach parking lot in Malibu. The Industry Hills Exhibition Center in the San Gabriel Valley also provided shelter for horses from fire-affected areas.
While the fire was blowing up the highway overnight, the California Highway Patrol closed a four-kilometer stretch of 101 Freeway between the roads of Las Virgenes in Kanan. The closure was extended Friday morning to include the entire highway from Valley Circle Boulevard to Hidden Hills at Adobe's Reyes Road to Agoura Hills, according to Caltrans.
The Woolsey fire broke out around 2:25 pm Thursday in Ventura County, west of Chatsworth, pushed by the strong winds of Santa Ana. Early Friday, strong winds prevented fire commanders from ordering early morning air assaults, but some flights began at 5:30 pm as the wind calmed down. But the winds quickly resumed at dawn. The strong winds were expected to last until 2200 hours, when the red flag warning about the raised forest fire conditions was due to expire.
Fire authorities said Friday morning that at least 75,000 homes in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were under the command of the evacuation, but with the proliferation of orders as well as flames, thousands of others have probably been affected.
Heavy smoke and strong winds hampered the crews' visibility on the firing lines and residents attempting to evacuate the fire zones.
The fire resulted in the closure of all schools in the Las Virgenes Unified School District in Calabasas, as well as Viewpoint, Montessori de Calabasas, Montessori de Calabasas Too and Muse School schools. Schools in the Conejo Valley School District, headquartered in Thousand Oaks, and the Los Angeles Unified School District Topanga Elementary Charter District School of Business were also closed.
Around 2:30 am, mandatory evacuation orders issued in the city of Los Angeles, near West Hills and Hidden Hills, went from mandatory to voluntary, according to Brian Humphrey of the Ottawa Fire Department. Los Angeles. The orders involved residents located north of Highway 101, south of Bell Canyon Road, west of Valley Circle Boulevard and east of the city limits of Los Angeles. Evacuation orders in the Hidden Hills area of Los Angeles County were also demoted on a voluntary basis.
At approximately 12:30 pm, all residents of Los Angeles and Ventura counties north of Ventura Highway (101), south of Bell Canyon Road, west of Valley Circle Boulevard and at the East of Erbes Road, as well as north of Kanan Road, to the west of According to the Ventura County Fire Department, Lindero Canyon and Erbes Road, which extended north of Sunset Hills Boulevard, had to evacuate. This includes areas of Agura Hills, Calabasas and Westlake Village, all located in L.A.
The Los Angeles Police Department was put on tactical alert throughout the city at around 12:45 pm to make sure that all resources are available to assist with the execution of evacuation orders and closures. Roads caused by the Woolsey fire, according to a statement from the department. Tactical alert was raised around 7.45am.
"If you are in an affected area and need to evacuate, evacuate," police said.
City officials in Calabasas advised residents not subject to a mandatory evacuation order to be prepared to leave by collecting identification, drugs, key documents, emergency supplies and change of clothes. .
Teams from Los Angeles County and the city participated in the battle, which was taking place as a second largest bushfire raged further west in Ventura County, in the Santa Rosa Valley area. Thousand Oaks.
Captain Steve Concialdi said the Orange County fire officials had sent two fire crews to firefighters specializing in the Woolsey fire.
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