California
New California “Auto Fire” breaks out in Ventura County
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.
BREAKING: A fast moving, wind driven brush fire is racing West along the Santa Clara riverbed between Ventura and Oxnard, toward Victoria Ave bridge. 3 helicopters assigned to the #AutoFire pic.twitter.com/bBZJNTCzU0
— Chris Cristi (@abc7chriscristi) January 14, 2025
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.
AP
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.
A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested in Texas in connection with the deadly shooting after a high school graduation ceremony in Fairfield, California last month, police said.
Fairfield police said U.S. Marshals, accompanied by department detectives, served search and arrest warrants Friday morning at a home in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The teen was taken into custody without incident on suspicion of murder and related offenses.
Investigators said the suspect fled California and traveled to Texas within days of the June 3 shooting. He will remain in custody while awaiting extradition to Solano County.
The shooting happened after Sem Yeto Continuation High School’s graduation ceremony, which was held on the Fairfield High School campus.
Police said 18-year-old graduate Jamario Baker died at the scene. Three others – an 11-year-old child and two adults, ages 20 and 25 – were wounded.
Authorities have not released the suspect’s name because he is a minor.
Although an arrest has been made, police said the investigation remains active and detectives continue to pursue additional leads.
“While today’s announcement may provide a measure of relief to some, it does not lessen the pain felt by our community,” the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District said in a statement.
Police plan to hold a news conference Monday at 4 p.m. to discuss the case and arrest.
Fairfield is a Northern California city about 40 miles northwest of San Francisco.
A California bill would let insurers monitor customers’ driving data in exchange for discounted premiums.
Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, the author of AB 311, said the digital monitoring, known as telematics, rewards good driving and would improve safety. In real time, telematics technology would track data such as speed, location and how a vehicle is being driven.
“We have to slow people down,” McKinnor said. “That is the whole purpose for this bill, is driver safety.”
A voter-approved law from 1988, Prop 103, required insurance rates to be based mainly on driving record, miles driven and experience. It made California the only state in the country to prohibit telematics.
McKinnor believes the law is outdated. She argued that her bill would also help good drivers who pay higher rates because of where they live.
“Where I live definitely brings my insurance up,” McKinnor said. “If we both drive the same way, we’ll get charged the same way, instead of by our ZIP code.”
California’s Department of Insurance and consumer groups oppose the bill, citing privacy concerns.
“We can’t look behind the algorithm and see what weight it’s giving to different criteria, which is a big problem,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. “Auto insurance, otherwise, is transparent. This is why the Department of Insurance is opposed, because of the lack of transparency in the algorithm.”
The proposed savings in exchange for good driving might not be guaranteed. Telematics data from the Maryland Insurance Administration showed that 31% of drivers who opted into the program saw a drop in rates, 24% saw an increase and 45% saw no change to their premiums.
“This collects an awful lot of data about people, more than they know, and it’s like having Big Brother in your back seat,” Court said.
McKinnor insisted that drivers will not be forced to enroll in the program.
“It’s still opt-in in the other 49 states,” she said. “We’re not going to make this mandatory. It’ll be a per-volunteer situation.”
McKinnor’s bill passed through the legislature’s insurance committee. It’s expected to be presented to the full Senate in August.
Huntington Beach police are vowing to prevent a potential “takeover” event being promoted across social media that they believe could get out of control.
Police said they became aware of the event from a flyer online advertising an “end of summer beach bash” in the city.
“Dear ‘Beach Bash’ organizers…” police said in an Instagram post Thursday. “Thanks for the flyer. We’ve seen it too.”
They continued, “We have no intention of allowing that to happen here.”
No further details were provided about when the event was planned to take place or the exact location.
Police and the city of Huntington Beach said they’re working to prevent the event following similar events in Southern California that resulted in violence, vandalism and other criminal activity.
One chaotic event that was held in Newport Beach on the Fourth of July ended with more than 400 people being arrested, according to police. Some partygoers were seen fist fighting, while others allegedly vandalized property and local businesses, including a Pavilions grocery store.
Newport Beach police said social media posts drew a large influx of people to Newport Pier in a short amount of time, and the event got out of control.
Huntington Beach PD warned that anyone who organizes, promotes or participates in criminal activity associated with a takeover event may be arrested or prosecuted. Charges may include incitement to riot, vandalism, theft, assault, reckless driving, unlawful assembly, conspiracy or other applicable offenses.
They also warned that juveniles would not be exempt from punishment, and parents or guardians may also be liable for damages caused by their child’s actions.
The HBPD Special Investigations Bureau has already identified individuals believed to be involved in organizing and promoting the event, according to police.
If you have information regarding this event, you are urged to contact Huntington PD’s Special Investigations Bureau at 714-536-5991.
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