The total cost of fighting the fire had come to more than $110 million by Saturday evening, as flames blazing over steep hills lit up the night skies. The 13 days of shifting winds and evacuations have taken their toll on a weary population. Paul Pineda, who lives in Fillmore, about 55 miles (90 km) […]
The total cost of fighting the fire had come to more than $110 million by Saturday evening, as flames blazing over steep hills lit up the night skies.
The 13 days of shifting winds and evacuations have taken their toll on a weary population.
Paul Pineda, who lives in Fillmore, about 55 miles (90 km) northwest of Los Angeles and on the eastern flank of the fire, said he will flee if the blaze gets too close.
“It’s pretty crazy. Went to sleep last night about midnight and then woke up to the roar of this fire coming through about 3 a.m.” Pineda said.
This year has been unprecedented for California in terms of structures lost and the size of the wildfires, officials said. Five of 20 most destructive fires in recorded history ravaged the state in 2017, according to Cal Fire.
The vast landscape charred by the blaze, centered fewer than 100 miles (160 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, reached 267,500 acres (108,253 hectares) late on Saturday. The largest wildfire in state history was the 2003 Cedar blaze in San Diego County that consumed 273,246 acres and caused 15 deaths.
The hot Santa Ana winds have propelled the fire’s expansion, at times sending embers far ahead of its main flank. They were forecast to gust at up to 50 mph (80 kph) on Sunday with critical fire conditions remaining through Monday, National Weather Service forecasters said.
Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson, 32, died on Thursday while battling the flames near the Ventura County community of Fillmore. Fire officials said Iverson, the blaze’s first fatality, left behind a pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter.
He died of smoke inhalation and burns, the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s office said.
