The Easy Fire in California’s Simi Valley was burning nearly 1,300 acres and threatening thousands of homes on Wednesday, October 30, officials said. The blaze started just after 6 am and had grown to about 1,300 acres by 10 am, Ventura County Fire Department Chief Mark Lorenzen said at a press conference held on Wednesday afternoon. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported the Easy Fire as five percent contained. Lorenzen said the fire was still moving “pretty quickly” and there were new reports that “potentially” one residential building was burning. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for parts of Simi Valley, Moorpark, and Thousand Oaks, local media reported. Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub said about 7,000 homes, tallying up to about 26,000 affected residents, were under evacuation orders. Gusty winds and low humidity produced an “extreme fire weather threat” for the region, the National Weather Service said. This video shows a jet plane dropping fire retardant over a smoking portion of Simi Valley. Credit: @Brentweston02 via Storyful
