Southern California firefighters battled a new brush fire in the mountainous terrain next to Lake Piru in Ventura County on Thursday.
By 4:30 p.m., the Felicia Fire had grown to 293 acres with no containment, according to Cal Fire. The blaze prompted evacuation orders for all Lake Piru recreation areas.
“Over 100 firefighters are working on the ground and from the air, utilizing multiple helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to combat the blaze,” fire officials said on X, formerly Twitter, at about 2 p.m.
By 8:40 p.m., the blaze grew to around 301 acres, but crews were able to stop the fire’s forward progress. The fire remained around 14 percent contained.
“Approximately 500 firefighters are assigned to the incident with crews working throughout the night on increasing containment and continuing structure protection,” said the Ventura County Fire Department.
For information, visit vcemergency.com.
Nancy Fontan contributed to this report.
