Maria Fire In Ventura County: Some Evacuation Orders Lifted

SANTA PAULA, CA — Evacuation orders for some Ventura County residents were lifted Saturday as firefighters continued to make progress on getting the explosive Maria Fire under control. The latest information from Cal Fire shows that the blaze has burned nearly 9,500 acres and is 20 percent contained.

Ventura County emergency operations officials said that as of Saturday morning, crews were making good progress in containing the blaze. Officials said that fire behavior decreased overnight but the area is still under a red flag warning due to gusty northeast winds and low humidity until 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Over 2,500 structures are threatened by the blaze and fire officials said that three structures have been destroyed.

On Saturday, the following evacuation orders were lifted:

The Saticoy Country Club neighborhood:
Club House Dr
Northridge Dr.
Skywalker Dr.
La Vista Ave.
Center Rd.
Walnut Ave
Milligan Barranca Rd.
Price Rd.
Hondo Ranch Rd.
Aggen Rd.
Berylwood Rd.
East La Loma Ave.

Mandatory evacuation orders remain in place for:

SANTA PAULA
North Boundary : Highway 126
West Boundary: East of Campanula Avenue
East Boundary: South 12th Street / South Mountain Road
South Boundary: Santa Clara River

South Mountain Road between 12th Street and Balcom Canyon is closed.

According to Ventura County officials, all Red Cross shelters are in the process of being demobilized and no overnight evacuation shelters are available at this time.

According to Southern California Edison, 180 customers in Ventura County are without power for safety reasons.

Ventura County school officials are monitoring the fire and will post school closure information online if there is an announcement.

The Maria Fire is several miles northeast of the Easy Fire that broke out Wednesday, burning 1,700 acres. The region endured the worst Santa Ana windstorm in more than a decade this week and has been beset by wildfires including last week's Tick Fire in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys as well as the Getty Fire that destroyed nearly a dozen Brentwood homes this week.

Paige Austin contributed to this report.