Containment grows on Sandy fire, others across Southern California

A wildfire near Sandy Avenue in Simi Valley forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate and reached 15% containment overnight. The fire began around 11 a.m. Monday, moved toward nearby homes, and destroyed one home. By Wednesday morning, it had burned across 1,698 acres. Fire activity continued overnight along the eastern edge and produced spotting near Sequoia Avenue. Crews continued suppression efforts on Wednesday as weather patterns were expected to remain similar, with eastern winds shifting west in the afternoon. About 43,000 residents remained under evacuation orders. Winds stayed light overnight, while relative humidity remained between 15% and 25% before improving to about 60% to 70% in the afternoon. Multiple roads were closed, and an evacuation warning was in effect near several Ventura County communities.

"A wildfire that forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate Simi Valley jumped to 15% containment overnight, according to officials. The blaze began around 11 a.m. Monday off Sandy Avenue and moved to nearby homes, destroying one, according to Cal Fire. It had burned across 1,698 acres as of Wednesday morning."

"Overnight, fire activity continued around the eastern edge of the fire and began spotting near Sequoia Avenue, according to Andrew Dowd, spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department. Crews are continuing to battle the fire on Wednesday, as weather patterns are expected to stay the same, Dowd said. Eastern winds are expected to shift west in the afternoon. Around 43,000 residents remain under evacuation orders."

""We're here with Cal Fire, L.A. City and L.A. County Fire," Dowd said. "We have water in helicopters, dozers, and engines and we are giving this fire an aggressive fire tap with everything we got.""

"Winds were pretty light for the most part overnight, with lower elevations seeing winds under 5 mph, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. Offshore winds will continue Wednesday from the northeast, with gusts around 12 mph continuing through the morning and weekend. Relative humidity around the fire hovered between 15% and 25% overnight but was expected to improve Wednesday afternoon, with humidity increasing to around 60-70%, Lewis said."

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