A relentless wildfire northwest of Los Angeles continued to challenge firefighting crews on Friday after forcing thousands of Californians to evacuate and destroying over 100 structures. Despite calming winds, the blaze, known as the Mountain Fire, remained difficult to contain.
Overnight, the fire, which had already burned roughly 20,000 acres (8,100 hectares) in Ventura County, held steady with containment improving slightly to 7%, up from 5% on Thursday, according to Cal Fire’s latest update.
“The fire is burning in steep, rugged terrain, with dry fuels that have complicated containment,” Cal Fire reported. “Reduced winds have helped moderate the fire’s intensity.”
The agency noted that critical infrastructure remained at risk and warned that unburned patches within the fire’s footprint would likely continue to ignite.
Among those affected was Ventura County resident Dennis Gottlieb, who lost his home but considered himself fortunate to have escaped. Waiting at a shelter at Padre Serra Parish Catholic Church in Camarillo, Gottlieb said he only managed to save his truck.
“It was really windy, but I didn’t think much of it until I saw the smoke and flames,” he said. He attempted to defend his house with garden hoses but was quickly overwhelmed. “Embers were falling all around; it felt like 150 degrees,” he recalled. He and his wife, Linda Fellerman, narrowly escaped after a neighbor helped clear a fallen tree blocking the road.
On Thursday, Gottlieb returned to assess the damage but found, “Everything is gone. All burned up.”
The National Weather Service maintained a red flag warning for the area until at least 11 a.m., forecasting milder winds under 15 mph (24 kph) and a slight rise in humidity. Although gusts reached up to 80 mph (130 kph) earlier in the week, forecasters expect Santa Ana winds to stay moderate over the weekend, with only light gusts.
By Thursday, evacuate orders affected more than 10,000 people near Camarillo, about 45 miles from Santa Barbara. Some homes were destroyed as embers, carried by strong winds, spread the fire, according to the Los Angeles Times. In total, over 130 structures were reported lost.
“The only thing left of our house is two chimneys,” local resident Darren Kettle shared, describing the devastation as “shocking and traumatic” after they were evacuate.
Climate scientists point to rising temperatures and changing seasonal patterns as contributors to wildfire intensity. California’s wet winters have fostered abundant vegetation growth, while record-high summer temperatures have dried hillsides, making them more susceptible to fire.
The United States has faced an intense wildfire season, with 8.1 million acres (3.3 million hectares) burned so far—above the annual average of 7 million acres over the past decade, as per National Interagency Fire Center data. In California, wildfires have already scorched more than three times the area burned by this time last year.
