Firefighters reached 15% containment on the Sandy fire on Wednesday, May 20, as the blaze had charred 2,115 acres, according to Cal Fire.
“Fire activity again diminished overnight, however light offshore winds are expected through the morning before switching to onshore flow through the remainder of the day,” officials wrote in a morning update.
Amid warm temperatures and gusty winds on Wednesday, firefighters were able to make strong progress on the blaze, though “steep terrain and challenging weather conditions continue to create difficult working conditions for firefighters…” according to Cal Fire.
On Wednesday evening, the fire had not crossed onto the Santa Susana Field Laboratory property. Due to the fire’s proximity to the lab, officials “proactively deployed” air quality monitoring equipment ” to establish background air quality readings and to help assess conditions should the fire advance further into the area,” Cal Fire said.
The fire was first reported just before 11 a.m. Monday, May 18, near Sandy Avenue, a small residential street on the south side of Simi Valley, officials said.
Though the cause is still under investigation, Simi Valley police confirmed Tuesday, May 19, that they received a call from a man who told them he was driving a tractor and hit a rock, causing a spark that started a brush fire, Sgt. Rick Morton said.
Additional evacuation orders were made Tuesday afternoon, extending previously ordered evacuations farther east to East Los Angeles Avenue. All evacuation orders and warnings remained in place Wednesday morning.
Simi Valley Unified School District schools and campuses were again closed Wednesday, including all after-school programs and activities. On Wednesday afternoon, the district announced the extension of the closure through the rest of the week.
One structure has been destroyed by the fire, officials said. Nearly 900 firefighters were on hand battling the blaze.
