407-Acre Brush Fire Erupts Near Reagan Library In Simi Valley, Thousands Ordered To Evacuate

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS2 (Los Angeles)

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) – A massive brush fire broke out in Simi Valley and Moorpark Wednesday morning, threatening thousands of homes and forcing major evacuations, including the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The Easy Fire broke out just after 6 a.m. in the area of the 118 Freeway and Madera Road. It exploded to 407 acres by 8 a.m., spurred on amid extreme red flag conditions and powerful Santa Ana winds.

The fire was burning along the Tierra Rejada Road corridor and moving west towards the 23 Freeway.

“Right now we have all of our crews and engine companies that will be down of Tierra Rejada,” Ventura County Fire Capt. Dan Arnold told CBS2. “We have homes that are directly impacted that are requiring immediate structure defense.”

Read more: https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/10/30/brush-fire-erupts-in-simi-valley/

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Wow. You occasionally see those kinds of winds further north in Washington State but not down in SoCal with the Santa Anas.

The "Easy Fire" is new this morning and is threatening the Raygun Library.

ETA per this, the fire started about 2 miles from the library -

Map: Easy Fire evacuations expanded

By Bay Area News Group |
PUBLISHED: October 30, 2019 at 7:55 am | UPDATED: October 30, 2019 at 8:41 am

A new Southern California wildfire is forcing mandatory evacuations in Simi Valley, including at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The Easy Fire started just before 6 a.m. Wednesday between the cities of Simi Valley and Moorpark, west of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Ventura County officials said. Within an hour, it had burned 170 acres, and initial mandatory evacuations were ordered. By 8:30, the evacuation order had been expanded to about 11 square miles (indicated by red line on the map above).

The Reagan library is less than 2 miles from where the fire started. The area is between several neighborhoods where electricity had been turned off as a preventive measure during high fire danger. As of 8 a.m., Highway 118 (the Ronald Reagan Freeway) remained open.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/30/map-easy-fire-evacuations-include-reagan-library/

Link to tweet

TEXT

VCFD PIO
✔
@VCFD_PIO

#EasyFire As of 8AM fire is approx 407 acres and spreading towards the 23 freeway. http://VCEmergency.com has updated evacs and road closure. @VCFD @CountyVentura @SimiValleyPD
View image on Twitter
84
11:09 AM - Oct 30, 2019

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. CC is coming for all of us, in different ways.

Out west it is fires, in the South it is hurricanes, etc.

One way or another you will NOT escape this and the deniers make me really really angry.

really really angry

[Auggie]

10. Coming soon: famine!

[Tikki]

2. They should open the raygun library to the homeless, displaced and for school children....

whose parents must go to work in this mess.

Since the library is be protected at all other’s cost, it would be a practical and compassionate way
to help others.

Tikki

[2naSalit]

3. I've rarely seen Santa Ana winds that were

they are hot and bereft of any moisture. You can stand outside on a screened-in porch and watch your skin dry up in a short time. They are always a problem for fire and destruction due to strength, heat and lack of moisture of the wind. I have had some truly scary moments in these conditions while in a semi, it's very scary when you can possibly be pushed into another lane of traffic or rolled over onto a line of vehicles in the next two lanes as you try to find a safe place to exit the freeway.

Santa Ana wind condition are a rather common thing in SoCal. We are having similar winds in my area right now, in MT, only we are in the single digit temps and snow comes and goes.

The wind is going to be a big issue as the climate changes accelerate.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. A weather issue in this case however

(from moi, a weather nut) is that there has been a persistent trough over the west that has kept the temps fairly cool there and literally wintery and frigid in the inter-mountain west, with 50s along the coast and single digits/teens in the mountains. It's usually the reverse with the trough sitting over top of those of us in the east (which I hate) and a ridge in the west, so I don't expect these to be "hot" Santa Ana winds (outside of the fact that the fire itself is hot). In fact, that may be why the winds have been enhanced due to the temp extremes.

[Mike 03]

4. Scanner coverage for anyone interested

Source: Broadcastify

Link: https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/30587 (Ventura County Fire)

[yaesu]

13. thanks for posting nt

[SCVDem]

5. The library is safe.

They brought in goats earlier this year and had excellent fire clearance.

Wind gusts over 60.

I hope the power stays on!

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Problem with that is with the winds

clearing the brush around the immediate structure won't stop blowing burning debris from flying over the cleared areas and landing on a roof!

[Leghorn21]

6. Traumatizing for all

Link to tweet

[IcyPeas]

15. oh those poor horses - and think of all the other wildlife

[yaesu]

8. I caught Frontlines Camp Fire episode last night on PBS

it was damn scary to watch let alone what it must have been like to be in it. Hope everyone stays safe.

[LuckyLib]

18. I did as well. People need to evacuate themselves way

ahead of official notice. Roads are not prepared to handle the crush of most evacuations.

[Bayard]

11. Jeez

Any DU'ers in this area? Stay safe.

[Historic NY]

12. I don't think I could live there year after year not knowing...

if everything would be gone in a flash. A relatives niece went through the last fire storm lost it all. The insurance money was just enough to purchase a trailer which they parked on the old slab. I once purchased an old car out in the Santa Paula area. I had it shipped from that location a week before a fire devastated the area. I was lucky.

[demigoddess]

16. I still think we should figure out a house design that does not burn, Or

maybe we should go back to living in tepees or yurts that you can pack up and take with you when you have to evacuate.

[ananda]

14. I almost wanna say let this one burn!

..

[stevil]

17. Good.

Keep it to yourself.

[machoneman]

19. I say God wants it, Raygun's Library, to burn down. Man, she is pissed about all Reubliscums!

Indeed! Heck, like Bush II's, only one book in it anyway.

[BigmanPigman]

20. It has gotten much worse.

26,000 evacuated, 7,000 homes threatened and wind 60-80 mph.

[Initech]

21. Chicago: We are the Windy City! LA: Hold my beer!

[BumRushDaShow]

22. There was a pretty nasty fire there too

a long time ago!

[Initech]

23. Now our whole state is practically on fire!

Hell there's a fire burning really close to where I live.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. Once winter comes

Florida will be going into its dry season and the wild fires will be starting up down there too.

[Initech]

25. I can't believe there's anyone on this planet who would observe the weather...

And say "Yeah I want more of this!". I mean I've never seen anything like this in my entire life. Horrible winds, extreme fires, colossal hurricanes, tsnuamis, I could go on and on. This is not OK!

[BumRushDaShow]

26. The middle of the country is getting frozen out at the moment

with some abnormally early snow and frigid temps.

And a new subtropical storm just formed today - Rebekah (which is in the north Atlantic) -

Link to tweet

TEXT
NOAA Satellites
?Verified account @NOAASatellites

A low pressure system, seen here by #GOESEast, is spinning out in the #Atlantic several hundred miles west of the #Azores. This system has a high chance of becoming a #tropical or #subtropical storm, but it will likely move over colder waters on Thursday. http://nhc.noaa.gov/
/>
2:20 PM - Oct 30, 2019

The one thing that scientists learn early on is that systems always want to come into equilibrium, so the more extreme the temps in one area, the more extreme the "opposite" temps tend to be in an adjacent area (as long as the poles still have ice) - and the clash comes when the 2 areas bump into each other and try to "mix"... and they will churn until the result reaches a stable temperature and pressure.

[ripcord]

27. This time a branch blew into LADWP power lines

DWP should be investing in their infrastructure rather than sending $240 million a year to Los Angeles to help balance the city budget.

[BumRushDaShow]

28. Wanted to add a pic of where the fire was yesterday in relation to the library...