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Solimar Fire Update: Power lines knocked down by high winds caused wildfire
A Santa Barbara County Air Support helicopter makes a water drop while working a Solimar wildfire in Ventura County, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2015. The fire, which began on Christmas night, has charred more than 1,200 acres.
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Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Dept. via AP
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A Cal Fire inmate hand crew works to remove brush to prevent a wildfire from spreading to a remote oil field access road in Ventura County on Dec. 26, 2015.
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Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Dept. via AP
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Location of the Solimar Beach fire, which led to the shutdown of Highway 101 on Dec. 26, 2015.
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Google Maps
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The Ventura County Fire Department has contained a blaze that has been burning in Solimar since Friday night.
The fire, which led to the closure of the 101 Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway over the weekend, was caused by high winds that knocked down power lines.
The department's incident commander Norm Plott said the crew would have total control over the fire on Tuesday.
https://twitter.com/VCFD_PIO/status/681632965969874944
“We haven’t seen any active flames since yesterday morning," fire captain Mike Lindbery told KPCC on Monday. "Mostly what we’re dealing with are smoldering materials and as the day passes, those become fewer and fewer... We’re pretty confident things are looking fairly good today and we really won’t have any further spread.”
The fire department will continue to monitor the smoldering materials and the impact of the blaze on the dry hillsides as mudslides could occur.
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"The organizations that need to come together to talk about this and take action are already in communication with each other. They are, I am sure, very shortly going to be working on a plan to address this,” said Lindbery.
As the blaze spread over the weekend, dramatic video emerged of the fire on Instagram and Twitter, including video of those trapped on the freeway:
Two firefighters sustained minor injuries fighting the fire, one with a knee injury and another an ankle injury, according to the fire department. "The game plan for today is to continue to reinforce the perimeter around the fire, and continue mop-up operations."
There were no reports of injuries to residents or drivers, and no homes or businesses are threatened.
This story has been updated.
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