INCIDENT SUMMARY
Location
The fire is located 6 miles NW of Ventura [Ventura County], North of Hwy 101 and West of Hwy 33 in SRA. It is burning along Rincon [San Diego County], the Northern part of the City of Ventura, California.
Date and Time of Origination
The fire started on Christmas Day around 2242 Hours PST. At 0200 Fire was at 100 acres, light fuels, wind-driven. It soon became a 2-Alarm Brush fire with an IC requested. Both sides of the 101 Freeway was shut down to drivers and all traffic. It would soon ramp up to 250 acres with 150 Firefighters and 30 homes being threatened.
Containment Status
10% contained.
Damage Assessment / Threats
0 buildings lost and 0 injuries reported. 1200 acres scorched as of 0900 Hours. The fire is being pushed by strong NW Winds, causing threats to oil, gas, power and rail infrastructure.
Weather Conditions
As of Saturday, December 26, 2015, current Weather conditions are Sunny with temps of 40 as the low and 57 as the high today. Humidity is 28% and winds are 6.1 knots from the WSW with 11.3 knots wind gusts.
EVACUATIONS
Solimar Beach Residents
Previously the Solimar Beach residents and campgrounds were on a voluntary evacuation basis but as the fire grew and the danger became imminent, the evacuation order was changed over to a mandatory order.
Paria Beach Residents
The Paria Beach residents at the time of this post, were on a voluntary evacuation order. They should be ready to move at a moment’s notice if the fire danger becomes imminent for them. It was stated evacuees were being told to go North out of the area.
SHELTER
Red Cross
The Red Cross has opened a Shelter in the Carpinteria VA Building located at 941 Walnut Avenue in Carpinteria, California.
CLOSURES
101 Freeway
The Northbound 101 Freeway was closed at Highway 33 and Southbound at Bates Road. At 1045 Hours, CALTrans was doing a sweep to see if it was safe for drivers to use the freeway again. No word on an update.
Union Pacific RR
All train activities have been halted due to the fire in the area.
INCIDENT COOPERATORS
Air Support
4 Fixed Wing Tankers have been ordered. Unknown from which agency or where they are responding from. LA County Fire’s COPTR 16 has been assisting with fire suppression air support.
Fire Personnel
At 0930 Hours, there were 600 Firefighters either on scene or en route assigned to the incident. CALFire stated they have 8 engines, 2 handcrews, 2 dozers with a total of 80 personnel assigned.
Police Support
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is working an Incident Cooperator and the official Law Enforcement on scene.
PUBLIC RESOURCES
Preparedness
For tips on how to get prepared for a Wildfire, visit ReadyforWildfire.org. For those not affected by this fire, now is a great time to start preparing for one.
SOCIAL MEDIA
We will be covering this incident with some limited interruptions as we go in / out of service throughout the day. We will be posting updates on our Twitter account @nwfireblog so stay tuned for any new info.
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