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.
A helicopter drops water while fighting the Auto Fire in Ventura County, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. The fire has burned around 56 acres and containment is at 0 percent.
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.