The Sandy fire crept up to 2,141 acres on Thursday, May 21, as firefighters focused on handling hot spots, slashing brush near vulnerable communities and working toward containment, which reached 40% by evening, according to CalFire.
Many evacuation orders were reduced to warnings or lifted, Ventura County officials reported on their emergency services site.
See the current evacuation list
Firefighters had to deal with steep terrain and challenging weather conditions while battling the blaze on Wednesday, and on Thursday, temperatures again climbed into the 80s.
Southwest winds were reported at around 5 mph near the fire for most of Thursday, with 15-mph gusts. The winds calmed down into the evening, the National Weather Service said.
The Sandy fire was first reported before 11 a.m. Monday, May 18, near Sandy Avenue, a small residential street that ends at the foothills at the south end of Simi Valley. The blaze initially began growing toward the west, threatening homes in the Bridle Path community until the winds shifted and sent flames back east.
On Tuesday, a small section on the south side of the fire’s perimeter grew, at one point crossing Albertson Fire Road before crews got a handle on it, officials said.
The blaze again grew Wednesday by more than 400 acres. Early Thursday, it was reported at 2,118 acres.
While the fire hadn’t crossed the Santa Susana Field Laboratory property, officials “proactively deployed” air-quality monitoring equipment “to establish background air-quality readings and to help assess conditions should the fire advance to that area,” Cal Fire said Wednesday.
All Simi Valley Unified School District schools and campuses were to remain closed through Memorial Day on Monday, May 25, officials said.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation on Thursday, though Simi Valley police received a call from a man on Monday morning after 10:15 a.m. saying he had been driving a tractor and struck a rock, causing a spark that started a brush fire, spokesman Sgt. Rick Morton said on Tuesday.
The fire destroyed at least one home, officials said.
A couple of other websites still had containment at 30% early Thursday evening.
Sandy Fire Air Monitoring Update – Due to the Sandy Fire’s proximity to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL), hazardous materials and radiological monitoring teams continue proactive air quality and radiation monitoring operations around the fire area.
Currently, seven air… pic.twitter.com/6OYikcp6Bk
— VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) May 22, 2026
