Sandy Fire Tears Through Simi Valley Brush, Forces Reagan Library to Close and Spreads to 836 Acres

Level 2 — Elementary

A fast-moving brush fire called the Sandy Fire broke out late Monday afternoon in Simi Valley, a city in southern California, just north of Los Angeles. By Tuesday morning the fire had spread across 836 acres, and firefighters had not yet contained any of it.

The Ventura County Fire Department says the blaze began near the 600 block of Sandy Avenue. Strong winds pushed the flames quickly into nearby canyons. Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for several neighbourhoods in Ventura County, and warning zones later expanded into parts of Los Angeles County as well.

About 550 firefighters are working on the ground. Three air tankers drop bright red fire retardant on the flames, while five helicopters drop 1,000 to 3,000 gallons of water on hot spots deep inside the canyons. A temporary evacuation point is open at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park, and a large-animal shelter has been set up at the Ventura County Fairgrounds for horses and other animals.

All Simi Valley Unified School District schools are closed to students on Tuesday because of the fire and the heavy smoke. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which sits on a hilltop in Simi Valley, has also closed to visitors as a precaution.

brush fire: a wildfire that burns mainly in low bushes, dry grass and small trees

contain: in firefighting, to stop a fire from spreading further

canyon: a deep, narrow valley with steep sides, often cut by a river

evacuation order: an official instruction telling people they must leave an area at once for their safety

air tanker: a large aeroplane that carries water or chemicals to drop on a wildfire

fire retardant: a red or pink liquid dropped from planes to slow the spread of a fire

hot spot: an area inside a fire where the flames are especially intense or are flaring up again

precaution: something done in advance to prevent harm or trouble

Level 3 — Intermediate

A wind-driven brush fire dubbed the Sandy Fire ignited in the 600 block of Sandy Avenue in Simi Valley, Ventura County, late Monday afternoon and has expanded to 836 acres with zero containment as of Tuesday morning, according to Ventura County Fire Department Public Information Officer Andy VanSciver. Mandatory evacuation orders cover several zones in northern Simi Valley, while evacuation warning zones have since expanded to include portions of unincorporated Los Angeles County to the south and east.

An estimated 550 firefighters are committed to the incident on the ground, supported by three fixed-wing air tankers laying lines of red fire retardant ahead of the flame front and five helicopters making repeated water drops of between 1,000 and 3,000 gallons on hot spots deep inside the canyons north of State Route 118. Several structures have been confirmed damaged, and the fire briefly threatened homes along the canyon edges as it raced uphill in the late-afternoon onshore wind.

A temporary evacuation point has opened at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park at 5005 Los Angeles Avenue, and a large-animal shelter, an essential service in a community that hosts a substantial equestrian population, is operating at the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 East Harbor Boulevard in Ventura. All Simi Valley Unified School District schools have been closed to students on Tuesday because of both the active fire perimeter and a regional air-quality advisory issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for elevated PM2.5 levels east of the Conejo Grade.

The hilltop Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, perhaps the city's most recognisable landmark, has closed to visitors and shifted its on-site staff to a remote-work footing as a precaution against any wind-shift that could carry the fire onto the library's brush-covered perimeter. Local memory still runs to the 2003 Simi Fire that burned within metres of the library complex; library staff and Ventura County Fire are coordinating directly on any defensive structure-protection deployment that may be needed in the next 24 to 48 hours.

containment: the percentage of a wildfire's perimeter that has been controlled, typically with fire lines, retardant or natural barriers

fire retardant: a red, ammonium-phosphate-based slurry dropped from aerial tankers to slow or stop the spread of wildfire

flame front: the leading edge of an advancing wildfire, where active flames are pushing into new fuel

onshore wind: a wind blowing from the sea toward the land, typical of southern California afternoons

unincorporated: describing land that is not part of any city and is administered directly by a county

PM2.5: fine inhalable particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter, a major component of wildfire smoke

equestrian: relating to horse riding and horse ownership

structure protection: the firefighting tactic of defending specific buildings, often with hose lays, brush clearance and pre-positioned engines

Level 4 — Advanced

A wind-driven brush conflagration designated the Sandy Fire ignited at approximately 16:40 PDT on Monday in the 600 block of Sandy Avenue in northern Simi Valley, Ventura County, and by 08:00 PDT Tuesday had expanded to a Ventura County Fire-reported 836 acres at 0% containment, having tripled in footprint overnight from an initial 184-acre estimate. Ventura County Fire Public Information Officer Andy VanSciver confirmed at the dawn operational briefing that mandatory evacuation orders cover multiple zones in northern Simi Valley, with evacuation warning zones now extended into unincorporated portions of northwestern Los Angeles County along the Santa Susana corridor.

The ground response stands at roughly 550 personnel committed to the incident, with three fixed-wing air tankers, including a contracted DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker out of San Bernardino Tanker Base, laying ammonium-phosphate retardant lines ahead of the active flame front, and five Type-1 and Type-2 rotor-wing assets — among them Ventura County's own Firehawk — making repeated water drops of between 1,000 and 3,000 gallons on hot spots deep inside the Las Llajas, Sandy and Chivo canyon systems north of State Route 118. The Cal Fire Operational Area Coordination Center in Camarillo has cross-flagged the incident with the Southern Operations geographic area, and a Type-1 federal Incident Management Team is being mobilised for transition by 18:00 PDT Tuesday.

A temporary evacuation point has opened at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park at 5005 East Los Angeles Avenue, and a large-animal shelter — a critical capacity in a community that hosts a substantial equestrian and small-livestock population — is operating at the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 East Harbor Boulevard in Ventura, staffed by the Ventura County Animal Services Disaster Response Team. The Simi Valley Unified School District has shut all twenty-eight of its campuses to students on Tuesday in response both to the active fire perimeter and to a regional air-quality advisory issued by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for elevated PM2.5 and PM10 levels east of the Conejo Grade and through the Santa Susana Pass.

The hilltop Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, by some margin the city's most recognisable architectural landmark and the resting place of the 40th President, closed to visitors at 17:30 Monday and has shifted its on-site staff to a remote-work footing while NIMS-trained library facilities staff coordinate directly with Ventura County Fire on a contingency structure-protection plan. Institutional memory at the library still runs to the October 2003 Simi Fire, during which the perimeter advanced to within roughly 75 metres of the library's southern brush margin before being held by a combined aerial and ground attack. National Weather Service Oxnard has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Ventura County valleys and foothills through 23:00 PDT Wednesday, citing single-digit relative humidities, sustained winds of 25-35 mph from the north-northeast, and gusts in excess of 55 mph at ridge-top sensors.

conflagration: a large and destructive fire, especially one consuming a great deal of vegetation or property

Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT): a converted commercial wide-body aircraft, typically a DC-10 or 747, used by federal and state fire agencies to drop very large loads of retardant on wildfires

ammonium-phosphate retardant: the fertiliser-based, iron-oxide-coloured slurry used in long-term aerial fire retardant such as PHOS-CHEK that both slows combustion and is visible from the air

Type-1 Incident Management Team: the highest qualification level of US federal Incident Management Team, deployed to the largest and most complex wildfires and disasters

Red Flag Warning: a National Weather Service product indicating that a combination of low humidity, high wind and dry fuels has produced critical fire-weather conditions

NIMS: the National Incident Management System, the standardised US framework for multi-agency emergency response

PM10: inhalable particulate matter 10 micrometres or less in diameter, a coarser companion measure to PM2.5 in air-quality reporting

Santa Susana Pass: the mountain pass connecting Simi Valley to the San Fernando Valley, a critical transportation corridor and historic wildfire path

Level 1 — Absolute Beginner

Level 2 — Elementary

Level 3 — Intermediate

Level 4 — Advanced

Sandy Fire Tears Through Simi Valley Brush, Forces Reagan Library to Close and Spreads to 836 Acres

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