What to know about the Mountain fire in Ventura County

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What to know about the Mountain fire

A raging wildfire has destroyed dozens of homes and threatens tens of thousands more in Ventura County.

The Mountain fire broke out Wednesday morning in a sparsely populated area in the Santa Susana Mountains between the 126 and 118 freeways. By Thursday afternoon, the wind-driven blaze swelled past 20,000 acres, affecting surrounding foothill communities and the nearby cities of Camarillo, Moorpark and Santa Paula.

Here is what we know as of as of Friday morning:

• The fire has burned more than 20,400 acres
• Containment is at 7%
• More than 5,000 homes are under evacuation orders or warnings, according to estimates from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
• More than 2,400 personnel have responded to the blaze
• The cause of the fire is under investigation

“Firefighters on the ground did say the water supply interruptions slowed them from fighting fires at times,” my colleagues reported Thursday evening. “It remains unclear exactly how many homes have been lost, but Times reporters in the area counted more than 90 homes destroyed by the fire and several more damaged.”

The fire was fueled by strong Santa Ana winds, sending a rain of embers down on homes and sparking new blazes up to 2½ miles ahead of the main fire line, according to officials.

Emergency officials in Ventura County warned that sustained winds ranging from 30 to 55 mph were expected to continue through Friday, with gusts up to 100 mph possible in some mountain regions.

Citing the “heightened wildfire risk,” Southern California Edison shut off power to nearly 70,000 utility customers across SoCal, affecting homes in Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and Orange counties.

Gov. Gavin Newsom met with local officials Thursday. The day before, he said the state had secured a FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grant “to help unlock resources to suppress” the fire.

UCLA climate scientist Alex Hall, director of UCLA’s Center for Climate Science, said the blaze is “another sobering reminder” that the combination of SoCal’s natural chaparral terrain with strong winds and longer, hotter dry seasons primes the region for this devastation.

“Until now, much of the research around managing wildfire risk in California has focused on forested areas,” Hall said in a news release. “But the Mountain fire once again drives home the urgent need for strategies tailored to the unique landscape, climate and communities of Southern California.”

According to Cal Fire incident data, more than 1 million acres have burned in the state so far this season, considerably more than the mild 2022 and 2023 seasons combined.

Although fires are part of our forests’ natural ecosystem, human-caused climate change and roughly a century of flawed wildland management have greatly increased the risks that wildland fires will explode into the massive infernos we’ve seen happen more frequently in recent years.

For updates today on the Mountain fire you can follow The L.A. Times’ coverage.

Today’s top stories

Newsom launched his first salvo as Trump prepares to reclaim power

• The governor wants the the state Legislature to increase legal funding to defend civil rights, climate change, access to abortion and other California policies from Trump’s conservative agenda.
• The special session provides an early look at Newsom’s plan to wage an aggressive campaign to shield California from the Trump White House while leading Democrats in the culture wars against the GOP.

With progressive ballot measures on track to fail, California’s political identity is questioned

• Voters approved a measure to reverse progressive criminal reform and were positioned to reject propositions that hike the minimum wage and end forced prison labor.
• Republicans seized on the news as proof that California is becoming more conservative. But longtime election watchers were more tempered about what the results say about the state.

Will the Menendez brothers be resentenced? Hochman says he wants to review the case

• After winning this week’s election for Los Angeles County district attorney, Nathan Hochman told The Times he wants to review several high-profile cases and undo many of incumbent George Gascón’s policies on Day 1.
• Gascón asked a judge last month to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez in the 1989 murder of their parents. The case could be wrapped up before Hochman takes office.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates again, but economists worry Trump could reignite inflation

What else is going on

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• Harris’ defeat opens a bumpy path to the White House for Newsom, columnist George Skelton writes.
• Don’t fall into total despair, Harris supporters — there was some good election night news, columnist Robin Abcarian observes.
• It’s wrong to blame Trump’s victory on Latino men, columnist Gustavo Arellano writes.
• Democrats keep expecting white women to save them, and they keep getting burned, news and culture critic Lorraine Ali writes.
• America’s last presidential bellwether ended its winning streak, columnist Mark Z. Barabak writes.

This morning’s must read

At Mater Dei, a unique link to USC’s secret admission system for donors’ kids. The president of this Orange County school helped affluent students enter USC as walk-on athletes, a route that the university has now acknowledged as fraud.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

Going out

• 🎶 From hi-fi bars to album listening parties, here are the 6 best spots to listen to music in L.A.
• 👟 These lively walking clubs will help you tour L.A. by foot — and make friends while doing it.
• 🍿 In “Heretic,” an affable predator meets his match: Mormon missionaries, our critic writes.

Staying in

A question for you: What’s your favorite political drama or comedy?

Bill Kurtz writes: “My favorite is ‘The Last Hurrah,’ a 1958 John Ford movie starring Spencer Tracy as a mayor political boss making one last race. Tracy’s character is defeated in a shocking upset by a handsome airhead who comes across well on TV. One of a trio of films, along with ‘A Face in the Crowd’ (Andy Griffith) and ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ (Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis) that touch on the early impact of television.”

Judy writes: “‘My Fellow Americans’ makes me laugh out loud. Great cast, good plot.”

And Dennis Fisher writes: “The political movie ‘Dave’ with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver is great.”

And finally … your photo of the day

Today’s photo is from staff photographer Genaro Molina for The Times’ walking guide to L.A. Do you have a favorite spot for walking in the city? If so, please share it with us!

Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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