Solimar Fire 75 percent contained after charring more than 1200 acres

VENTURA, Calif. – A wind-whipped wildfire closed a major coastal highway in Southern California for several hours and forced dozens of homes to be evacuated, authorities said Saturday.

According to the National Fire Protection Association in 2014 there were 1,298,000 fires reported in the United States and these fires caused 3,275 civilian deaths, 15,775 civilian injuries, and $11.6 billion in property damage.

The Orange County Fire Authority today said they have sent a strike team to assist in battling a wind-driven brush fire in Solimar Beach in Ventura County that has consumed at least 1,250 acres.

Hundreds of firefighters fought the blaze in the Solimar Beach area of Ventura County and were able to draw containment lines around 60 percent of the conflagration by Saturday evening, reported Reuters. Four aircraft and about 600 firefighters battled the blaze.

About 2 a.m. on Saturday in a video posted on Facebook, Ventura County Fire Department Captain Steve Kaufman said the fire was near the beach, “bumping up against the roadway”. Strong north winds started the small brush fire that was pushed toward the 101 Freeway, but firefighters quickly knocked it down. Residents living in Faria Beach and campers at Emma Woods State Beach were placed under voluntary evacuations. VCFD Fire Battalion Chief Norman Plott said some freeway medians were burned and melted from the flames that hopped across the lanes.

A wind advisory will remain in effect until noon Sunday.

Caltrans officials urged truck drivers to use Interstate 5 because of the windy conditions on the detour routes off Highway 101.

People in the Solimar Beach area were ordered to leave their homes but that mandatory order was lifted late Saturday afternoon, fire officials said.

The California Highway Patrol has reopened US 101 northbound, and is attempting to reopen the highway’s southbound route as of Saturday afternoon. The blaze threatened about 35 homes in the community.

“We understand the importance of the highway, especially on a holiday weekend”, Lindbery said.