Mountain Fire rages through Ventura County
The Mountain Fire broke out near Balcom Canyon Road in the Somis area on Nov. 6 at 8:51 a.m. The rapid Santa Ana winds drove the raging fire toward Camarillo where it burned over 10,000 acres in just five hours, reaching a total of 14,000 acres on the first day. As of Nov. 14, the fire remains 82 percent contained as firefighters continue working to contain the fire.
In the first six days, the Mountain Fire burned over 20,630 acres, damaged 90 structures and destroyed 207 structures. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but currently under investigation. Luckily, only six injuries have been confirmed during the first six days of the fire. According to Cal Fire, the total number of resources stands at a total of 2,399 personnel that have been recruited to the fire, the use of 13 helicopters, 275 engines, 22 water tenders and a total of 49 crews. As the winds and weather have died down, many crew members and engines have been sent home due to the increase in containment and control of the fire.
A month ago, current Public Information Officer [PIO], Andrew Dowd was driving the fire engines himself, but currently works as a PIO for the Ventura County Fire Department. Dowd said, “The first hours of the fire was simply one of the most aggressive and challenging firefights that I have seen in my entire career.” The Santa Ana winds firing around 60-70 mph, spread the fire fast making it challenging for firefighters to save every structure. Firefighters had to make 130 active rescues, pulling people out of their houses, getting them into cars and driving them to safety. “In the first hours of the fire, our goal was very simple: save lives, and we did that,” Dowd said. The firefighter’s quick response has allowed for zero fatality reports, and no people missing.
The fire’s dangerous and challenging behavior caused it to spread fast in a large area of space requiring tons of water. “Those embers traveled two and a half miles,” Dowd said. The embers traveled so far which created destruction and a quicker spread. There were many fire trucks constantly pumping water out of the same hydrants requiring tons of pressure and draining all of the water. The Ventura County Fire Department coordinated behind the scenes with the water department to inform them of how much water they needed and where they were trying to divert water and pump it up as quickly as they could. The water pressure was very low during the Mountain Fire, making fire departments call for water tenders that can carry thousands of gallons of water so the firefighters can “maintain a continuous water flow.”
The fire remains at 82 percent contained as of Nov. 14. “There’s a difference between containment and suppression. Suppression is where the fire is knocked down… containment for us means we have established a control perimeter around the section of the fire,” Dowd said. The firefighters have made it cold around the fire preventing further spread.
The destruction and out-of-control behaviors of the Mountain Fire have destroyed many homes and structures. The dry and humid temperatures in California have dried out the brush, giving the fire the fuel to rapidly spread and destroy structures. The Mountain Fire’s cause remains unknown but has become the most destructive fire to hit Southern California since the Woolsey Fire on Nov. 8, 2018.
