The Orange County Fire Authority Saturday said they have sent a strike team to assist in battling a wind-driven brush fire in Solimar Beach in Ventura County that has consumed at least 1,250 acres.
The strike team consists of 18 firefighters, said OCFA Capt. Larry Kurtz.
The firefighters were dispatched at 6:44 a.m. to join more than 600 firefighters in battling a blaze being pushed by a strong northwest wind, which currently poses a threat to oil, gas, power and rail infrastructure, according to the Ventura County Sheriff Department’s Office of Emergency Services.
The fire was just 10 percent contained as of late Saturday morning, according to CalFire. It started at 10:42 p.m. Friday six miles northwest of Ventura, north of the 101 Freeway.
Officials said no homes were immediately being threatened, although evacuations were still in place in Solimar Beach and area campgrounds.
KNBC4 reported that at least 50 homes were under mandatory evacuation in the Solimar Beach community and area campgrounds and another 30 homes were subject to voluntary evacuation in Faria Beach.
The Ventura County Office of Emergency Services said all evacuation orders were expected to be lifted at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The 101 Freeway was shut down for hours in both directions between state highways 33 and 150. The northbound lanes re-opened around 1:45 p.m. today, and the southbound lanes re-opened about 20 minutes later.
Pacific Coast Highway is closed between the State Beaches and Seacliff off-ramps, and is expected to re-open by 5 p.m.
Los Angeles County sent 30 firefighters and a helicopter to help fight the blaze.
The Ventura County Fire Department reported two minor injuries to firefighters, one an ankle injury and the other an injury to a knee.
A Red Cross shelter is at the Carpinteria Veteran Memorial, 941 Walnut Ave., in Carpinteria.
—City News Service