California wildfire burns over 1,000 acres, forces evacuations

Parts of the 101 and Pacific Coast highways have been closed.

A Ventura County Fire Department engine holds its positions as fire overruns state Highway 101 near Ventura, California on Saturday. A wind-whipped wildfire in Southern California burned over 1,000 acres of land, forced the closure of parts of two major highways and led to evacuations on Saturday, fire officials said.

A wildfire in Southern California burned over 1,000 acres of land, forced the closure of parts of two major highways and led to evacuations on Saturday, fire officials said.

More than 500 fire-fighters were at the scene or en route to battle the blaze in the Solimar Beach area of Ventura County, and parts of the 101 and Pacific Coast highways have been closed, according to the county fire department’s Facebook page. Ventura is about 65 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

No injuries, but fire still blazes

No injuries have been reported, but the fire has not been contained, according to local media reports. Fire officials could not be reached for an update.

The fire started at around 1030 pm local time on Friday, and strong winds and dry vegetation caused it to grow rapidly, according to KABC, the ABC TV station in Los Angeles.

At around 2 a.m. local time on Saturday in a video posted on Facebook, Venture County Fire Department Captain Steve Kaufman said the fire was near the beach, “bumping up against the roadway. We’re getting a bunch of embers in Solimar east.”

The Solimar Beach community is under a mandatory evacuation order, while a voluntary one has been issued for the nearby Faria Beach community, fire officials said.