The perfect storm of high winds and dry conditions that facilitated the Mountain fire’s rapid spread in Camarillo will not be an issue this week as humidity rises and wind speeds eventually lower, and crews are “buttoning up” the fire, authorities said Monday.
The fire, which began Wednesday, Nov. 6, has destroyed 192 structures and damaged 82, according to Ventura County Fire personnel. As of around 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, the fire had spread to 20,630 acres and Cal Fire said crews had achieved 42% containment, up from 31% Sunday night. Several evacuation orders have been reduced to warnings, though some areas are still closed off to residents, largely due to utility hazards.
Containment refers to the percentage of a fire’s perimeter that fire personnel believe will not expand any further, whether that be due to a natural barrier like rock or water, or the efforts of firefighters.
Though an increase in wind speeds is expected moving into Tuesday, fire and National Weather Service personnel assured the public that there is no cause for concern, as the wind speeds are nowhere near those seen last week when the blaze broke out amid Santa Ana wind conditions. Humidity levels have also risen to between 70 and 80%, another change that is less conducive to fire spreading.
The Camarillo Heights Estates and Somis areas, both hit hard last week, saw no growth of fire due to firefighters using a grid method and drones to patrol and squash any smolders, as well as the favorable weather, according to Nick Cleary, an operations section chief at Ventura County Fire.
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Ryan Walbrun, a meteorologist with the NWS, described the upcoming wind situation as a “wind test” that will test the containment lines. Walbrun assured the public that though the winds will increase to roughly 45 mph, the high humidity and eventual slow down of wind speeds make conditions favorable and are nothing like the winds that caused red flag warnings to be issued last week.
Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner noted that those who feel the increased winds may be anxious, but the fire is looking “really good” and firefighters are confident that they are “buttoning up” the mountain fire.
“The recovery stage is going to be long, the recovery stage is complicated and the recovery stage takes patience,” Gardner said during a Monday night news conference.
He urged the community to be patient with one another and fire personnel as the area begins to recover from the fire.
“Ventura is strong and the 805 is resilient,” he said, referring to the area’s area code.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A community meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. at Ranch Campana High school in Camarillo.
