Mandatory evacuation orders were issued Thursday afternoon for the Lake Piru and Val Verde areas as a wildfire burned nearby amid searing mid-summer temperatures across much of Southern California, officials said
The Canyon fire has grown to roughly 1,051 burned acres near Val Verde, straddling Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to Watch Duty. Officials also issued less-severe evacuation warnings for parts of the area.
Fire fuel has become drier as a result of the heat wave that parts of Southern California are experiencing, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sirard. “We have dusty southwest winds, onshore flow with the heat and so the dusty winds and the dry fuels are helping to spread this wildfire quite rapidly this afternoon,” he said.
Val Verde is an unincorporated community in the southeastern Topatopa Mountains foothills in northwestern LA County near the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park. Further northeast on the Ventura County side of the Topatopa Mountains is Lake Piru. It is a popular camping destination within the Los Padres National Forest.
Ventura County fire has deployed roughly 100 firefighters and 50 various types of firefighting apparatuses including, two heavy tanker trucks, and nine total aircrafts, according to a county spokesperson. Light winds of 5 mph are pushing the fire towards the east.
“Usually at night time, the winds die out enough the fire could lay down a little bit to some degree and allow the firefighters to knock it down a little bit overnight, hopefully,” Sirard said.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.
Residents can find the evacuation zones here.
This is a developing story.
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