Calmer winds helped California firefighters battle the once-out-of-control Mountain Fire on Friday as they continued to defend homes from the devastating blaze, officials said.
Evacuation orders have been lifted for at least two communities near the Mountain Fire in Ventura County, said Army Sergeant Sgt. Monica Smith said, but others stayed in place.
State fire officials reported 7% containment amid improving weather for the fire, which had burned nearly 21,000 acres by Friday.
“The incident command team is working diligently to open previously evacuated areas for repopulation as soon as it is safe to do so,” first responders said on the Ventura County incident website.
Communities in the Santa Susana Mountains and nearby foothills between Santa Paula and Moorpark, 50 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, were subject to evacuations Thursday through Friday that affected an estimated 15,000 people, Smith said.
The area of the fire is home to nearly 40,000 residents, according to a population profile published by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
Ventura County Animal Services said 115 horses, five ponies, three donkeys, seven sheep, 33 goats, four miniature horses, one cattle and 20 alpacas are being taken in as evacuees Friday.
The fire has destroyed 132 buildings through Thursday and reportedly injured 10 people, according to Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Andy VanSciver and Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff.
Information about the extent of injuries and condition was not available. Cal Fire said firefighters are among the injured.
A street of 10 homes in the hilly community of Somis, near the start of the fire, was nearly wiped out, with only one remaining after flames marched through it, NBC Los Angeles reported Thursday.
Resident Jessica Graham told the station that family members tried to save their home, but the flames reached a well, shut off the water supply they were using to battle the well and quickly threatened their lives before they escaped.
“I know we’re going to be okay,” she said. “We still have our lives and none of us have been taken from our families.”
Firefighters used their trucks to get some residents away from the looming flames, Ventura County Fire Chief Trevor Johnson said. The housing stock in the area is relatively new: many homes were built after 1980.
Utility Southern California Edison said Friday that power had been restored to nearly all Ventura County customers after it instituted a public safety power shutoff for some communities in the fire area.
Warm, dry offshore winds blew in Tuesday night and helped spread the fire, which started Wednesday morning amid high temperatures in the 70s.
According to weather service data, a wind gust of 60 mph was recorded within an hour of the fire’s start, and that morning several gusts above 60 and 50 mph produced winds at tropical storm level.
On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the area of the fire and announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved a grant that could cover much of the local costs of fighting the fire.
Cal Fire said 2,420 personnel were assigned to the fire. They were assisted by 14 helicopters and 378 engines, the agency said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Cal Fire said.
The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District said Thursday that unhealthy air from smoke was expected in the Conejo Valley, Simi Valley and Moorpark. The Ventura Family YMCA provided N95 masks to residents to help them ward off smoke exposure, according to its Facebook page.
Wind gusts Friday were 12 mph or less, with a morning portion of nearly two hours with no noticeable wind, according to National Weather Service data.
The remaining red flag fire warnings for the fire area, declaring conditions ripe for rapidly erupting fires, expired at 11 a.m. Friday, weather service meteorologist Ryan Kittell said.
The winds will shift from offshore to onshore, meaning they will come from the cooler Pacific Ocean, but they will still produce dry gusts, Kittell said.
The winds could remain problematic for firefighters, he said, but the change in direction could pave the way for the possibility of rain early next week.
Despite a warm day on Friday, “a cooling trend should emerge” from Sunday, according to the weather service.
“It means an end to what caused it all,” said meteorologist Kittell.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
