Firefighters in California are tackling a new fire that has broken out in Ventura County.

The blaze, dubbed the Auto fire, started in the Santa Clara River bottom near North Ventura Boulevard and Auto Center Drive, on Monday evening.

Progress on the fire had been “significantly slowed” by 10:50 p.m. local time on Monday, Andrew Dowd, a spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department, told the Ventura County Star.

A cause for the fire has not been determined, Dowd said.

Newsweek has contacted the fire department for further information via email.

Why It Matters

The new fire came as strong winds threatened the progress made so far on huge fires in the Los Angeles area that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the past week.

The Palisades fire, the largest of the fires still burning, has consumed almost 24,000 acres west of Los Angeles, and was just 14 percent contained by Monday night. The Eaton fire has burned more than 14,000 acres in the hills near Pasadena and was just 33 percent contained, while containment on the Hurst fire, which has burned almost 800 acres near Sylmar, was at 97 percent.

What To Know

Several videos posted on social media showed the spread of the fire.

One video captured from a helicopter and shared on X by ABC7 reporter Chris Cristi showed the fire moving west along the Santa Clara riverbed.

Local news station KTLA also shared a video captured from above showing how far the blaze had spread.

About 75 firefighters were working to prevent the spread of the fire, the Ventura County Fire Department wrote on X shortly before 9 p.m. local time.

An evacuation order has been issued for the Santa Clara River between the 101 Freeway and Victoria Avenue, according to an alert on the Ventura County’s emergency services website.

The alert notes that no residential structures are under evacuation.

Victoria Avenue is closed between Gonzales Road and Olivas Park Drive, the alert added.

What People Are Saying

Dowd told the Star that he did not expect the fire to threaten any structures. “Because of the size, it will be a long night of hard work to get the heat out of certain portions of this fire,” he said.

What’s Next

Firefighters are continuing to work on containing the Auto fire. It had burned about 56 acres and containment was at 0 percent, according to an update from Cal Fire at around 11:40 p.m.

Update 1/14/25, 3.30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

No, California Democrats, you can’t keep the funding tap on full blast when you have shown, year after year, that you can’t properly manage the flow.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is correct in issuing a “no-blank check” warning to the state.

“Obviously, there has been water resource mismanagement, forest management mistakes, all sorts of problems,” Johnson said Monday, acknowledging that any aid package for California may come with conditions. “And it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty and in many respects.”

It is crucial for California to ensure that such funds are allocated efficiently and intelligently. Without transparent oversight, there is a significant risk that these funds could be misallocated or disappear without trace.

We must not overlook the lessons from the past; during the COVID-19 crisis, the California Employment Development Department was unable to account for $55 billion in unemployment benefits.

If funds are disbursed hastily without adequate oversight, history could repeat itself.

The California government’s administration of public finances has been under scrutiny for years, such as its high-speed rail project.

Initially proposed to link San Francisco with Los Angeles, the project has dramatically ballooned in cost, with projections now ranging from $89 to $128 billion for a significantly reduced route from Merced to Bakersfield, according to the Institute for Energy Research.

In December 2024, Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-Roseville) introduced legislation that would eliminate federal funding for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, calling the project a failure due to political ineptitude, maintaining that there is no plausible scenario “where the cost to federal or state taxpayers can be justified.”

Addressing the homelessness issue has been equally fraught with challenges. Despite an investment of $24 billion over the last five fiscal years, as documented by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, homelessness has not decreased but rather increased by 3% in 2024, per CalMatters’ analysis.

The root causes, predominantly drug addiction and mental health issues affecting an estimated 200,000 individuals, remain largely unaddressed.

Yet the state’s “Housing First” policy, which prioritizes providing housing with minimal conditions, lacks accountability. It does not sufficiently tackle underlying issues like addiction, especially with the unchecked influx of fentanyl that pours across the border.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approach has been rightly criticized for intensifying funding for programs that do not yield proportional outcomes. Given these considerations, it is imperative to press pause before new federal funds are allocated.

California residents, particularly those in Los Angeles who are directly impacted by the fires, are calling for a more strategic, accountable approach to financial management.

California can’t afford to make the same mistakes, year after year.

Erica Sandberg is a freelance journalist and host of the San Francisco Beat.

Ricki Lake, whose treasured Malibu home burned to the ground last week amid the Palisades Fire, shared on social media that three months ago, she had spoken with celebrity medium Tyler Henry, who asserted a home connected to her would be ravaged by fire and water.

“Trying to articulate this without it sounding concerning,” Henry began, bringing up an instance of fire, in an episode from his series, “Live from the Other Side” on Netflix. “I think this may have already happened. If there was a loss [of] material objects from fire and water – and water though – that’s the kind of weird distinction,” he added as Lake nodded affirmatively. “It’s two separate things.”

“So we’re gonna end up finding that there’s a story where, like, there was a house fire, or something along those lines.”

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“There was a house fire,” Lake said.

“Separate from that,” he continued. “And this might end up being a little bit more pertinent. We had like a really bad storm and our basement flooded and it got a bunch of pictures ruined and we couldn’t ever bring them back. There’s just something about watching water seepage into a place it shouldn’t and damaging things. So keeping both of those things in mind.”

Celebrity medium and TV personality Tyler Henry had a premonition about a home connected to Ricki Lake in an October episode of his Netflix show. (Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)

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“But the fire already happened?” Lake clarified, sharing that she lived in Malibu. “The fire already happened,” Henry confirmed, acknowledging the fragility of the area. “But the kind of emphasis here is for some reason water. Fire and water. We got to watch it.”

In a post to Instagram, Lake credited Henry for his premonition, saying he’d “called it,” urging people to watch the episode.

“Less than three months ago, on Oct 15th, 2024 Ross and I were on Tyler’s show and guys, he SAW the fire,” she wrote.

Ricki Lake’s Malibu oasis burned in the Palisades Fire. (Ricki Lake Instagram)

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Last week, Lake shared photos of her beautiful Malibu property to social media, alerting followers that she had lost her “dream home” in the fires.

“It’s all gone,” she wrote, beneath a series of photos of her home before the fire. “I can’t believe I am typing these words.” Lake said “a valiant and brave effort” was made by their friend to save the home, but they unfortunately did not succeed. “The place where we planned to grow old together. We never took our heavenly spot on the bluff overlooking our beloved malibu for granted, not even for one second. I shared our sunset views almost daily with all of you.”

“This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married 3 years ago,” she said, referencing her third marriage to Ross Burningham. “I grief (sic) along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event. Praying for all of my neighbors, my friends, my community, the animals, the firefighters and first responders. More to share soon of how we escaped with Dolly and not much else. For now I grieve.”

Ricki Lake shared a video of what’s left of her home over the weekend. (Chris Haston/NBC via Getty Images)

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On Sunday, she shared a video showing “What’s left of our home and garden from the courtyard.” She wrote, “The Palm trees survived! I can’t believe it…. And to hear the birds chirping warms my broken heart.”

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, there are three active fires burning in Los Angeles: the Palisades Fire (14% contained), the Eaton Fire (33% contained) and Hurst Fire (89% contained.) Over 12,300 structures have been destroyed.

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