As firefighters strengthen containment against the devastating Ventura County Mountains Fire, new access to burned areas has revealed even more damage from the blaze that exploded last week during a freak wind event .
Officials said Tuesday that 207 structures were destroyed, many of them homes, after more than a dozen crews surveyed nearly 900 properties across the fire’s 20,630 acres — an increase of more than 60 structures compared to Monday’s count. An additional 90 structures were also damaged, according to the latest tally from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Officials also reported more than $6 million in agricultural losses from the fire, which ravaged avocado, citrus and raspberry fields, according to Korinne Bell, Ventura County agriculture commissioner.
“We are number one in the state for lawyers and, unfortunately, lawyers have been hit the hardest by this fire so far,” Bell said during a news conference Monday evening. She reported 500 acres of avocado trees damaged or destroyed, 130 acres of citrus and 10 acres of raspberry trees, as well as 2,500 acres used for livestock grazing. However, she said only a quarter of agricultural areas have been assessed, so the $6 million in losses is likely extremely underestimated.
“We expect that number to increase exponentially,” she said.
The Mountain Fire was listed as 48% contained as of Tuesday morning, and officials were confident those lines would hold even though winds were expected to intensify slightly.
“The fire looks really good,” Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said Monday evening. “The mountain fire – we all feel comfortable – is lit. You can see puffs of smoke, you can see dust, and you’re going to smell a lot of ash and dust if you’re downwind of this fire.
Winds could reach up to 35 or 45 mph on some high peaks Tuesday and Wednesday as humidity is expected to drop, creating more severe conditions, said Ryan Walbrun, a National Weather Service meteorologist assigned to the Mountain Fire. However, he said that was nothing compared to the extreme Santa Ana winds that caused this fire to grow, pushing embers more than a mile in front of the main fire.
“Tuesday and Wednesday we have very low humidity and some winds,” Walbrun said. “Again, this is not a red flag event and it’s not at all close to when the fire started – so I would consider this wind test a good thing for testing containment lines.”
And as of Tuesday morning, firefighters still had the upper hand against the fire.
“So far so good,” said Greg Baranek, a spokesman for the unified command responding to the Mountain Fire. “Once we get past this point [wind event]…we should sail smoothly.
But even with the worst fire under control, authorities are now preparing for what will likely be a long and difficult road for the community to rebuild and get back on its feet. Many county officials have cited past fires as road maps for this process.
“We are entering the recovery phase,” Gardner said. “The recovery phase is going to be long… so be patient.”
Despite extensive damage to homes, structures and farmland, the fire caused only minor injuries and no one was reported missing or killed.
“This fire could have been an absolute disaster for our community,” Gardner said. “We had some casualties, but again, we had no fatalities. We have suffered losses, but we will be able to rebuild. We can rebuild, we can recover and we can heal.
