California Wildfires

CSU Channel Islands campus evacuated due to Ventura County brush fire

Red flag fire weather warnings are in effect for parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties into Friday.

Evacuations were ordered on the Cal State Channel Islands campus Thursday Jan. 23, 2025 when a brush fire broke out in Ventura County.
NBCLA

Evacuations were ordered on the Cal State Channel Islands campus Thursday Jan. 23, 2025 when a brush fire broke out in Ventura County.

Evacuations were ordered on the Cal State Channel Islands campus Thursday morning when a brush fire broke out in the Camarillo area in Ventura County.

Firefighters and water-dropping aircraft responded to the Laguna Fire at about 9 a.m. off Laguna Road in the Oxnard plains. The fire was estimated at 15 acres with a rapid rate of spread in medium brush.

Water-dropping aircraft responded to the hillside covered in dry brush, located just west of the CSU Channel Islands campus and about 60 miles west of downtown Los Angeles

Winds were gusting at 20 mph to 30 mph in the area.

The fire started on a day of red flag warnings in Ventura County and Los Angeles County, where firefighters were gaining ground on three major fires.

The region is under severe to extreme drought conditions after a dry start to the wet season in Southern California. After two seasons of above-average rainfall, a months-long dry spell left hillsides covered in dry brush, providing fuel for wildfires.

Under a red flag warning, any fires that do start are more likely to spread at a rapid rate behind strong winds. Flying embers also speed a brush fire's spread. Powerful gusts can cast hot embers for miles, starting spot fires ahead of the main fire line in a nightmare scenario for firefighters.

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