Camarillo blaze forces home evacuations; CSUCI class cancellations
Hundreds of homes in Ventura County are being evacuated after a massive brush fire ignited early Thursday morning near the 101 freeway in Camarillo.
Fire authorities have ordered evacuations for neighborhoods in Camarillo and Newbury Park and nearby areas after the so-called Springs Fire erupted at around 6:30 a.m. on May 2 and quickly consumed more than 2,000 acres in the region. CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo shut down its campus and cancelled all classes and other activities for the day, and 20 fire engines were dispatched to the university to protects its structures and students.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the fire flared up along the Conejo Grade of the freeway, an area that’s close to hundreds of homes. Firefighters were sent from Ventura County, Cal Fire, and the cities of Ventura and Oxnard. Two southbound lanes of the freeway were closed early in the morning.
As officials ordered home evacuations, the American Red Cross set up two shelters for affected residents, one at Calvary Community Chapel in Westlake Village and another at Thousand Oaks Community Center.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the National Weather Service has warned of extreme fire danger in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties on May 2 and May 3.
