Auto Fire in Ventura forces evacuations as 'particularly dangerous ...

23 hours ago

FOX Weather

Auto Fire in Ventura forces evacuations as particularly dangerous

A new wildfire broke out in Ventura County late Monday night as thousands of firefighters in California continued their work to extinguish other deadly blazes that have scorched thousands of acres of land in the Los Angeles area since last week.

It’s been one week since devastating and deadly wildfires broke out in the Los Angeles area, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes as crews work to contain and extinguish the flames. FOX News Correspondent Connor Hansen was in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday morning with the latest on the around-the-clock fire fight.

LOS ANGELES – A new wildfire broke out in Ventura County late Monday night as thousands of firefighters in California continued their work to extinguish other deadly blazes that have scorched thousands of acres of land in the Los Angeles area since last week.

Fire officials said the Auto Fire ignited near a river in Ventura late Monday night and quickly began to spread before crews could stop the flames from advancing.

The Auto Fire was reported at about 56 acres with 0% containment.

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Officials in Ventura shared video of crews working to extinguish the Auto Fire on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.

CAL FIRE said some evacuations were ordered, and crews from surrounding communities were able to join in on the fight against the flames to extinguish hotspots and increase containment lines.

"The fire was confined to the river bottom and no structures were threatened," officials with the Ventura County Fire Department said on X.

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A video shared from California shows firefighters at the scene of the Auto Fire in Ventura on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.

This new fire comes as forecasters issued a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" Fire Weather Warning in Southern California due to dry conditions, low relative humidity and the return of dangerous Santa Ana winds.

California wildfire death toll rises to 24, dozens missing

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A plane drops fire retardant during the Eaton Fire near Altadena, California, US, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. Southern California faces another round of dangerous fire weather set to begin Monday night, even as crews struggle to contain wind-driven blazes that have paralyzed Los Angeles for nearly a week and killed at least 24 people. Photographer: Benjamin Fanjoy/Bloomberg via Getty Images ( )
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Firefighters from the California Conservation Corps work to contain the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, US, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. Southern California faces another round of dangerous fire weather set to begin Monday night, even as crews struggle to contain wind-driven blazes that have paralyzed Los Angeles for nearly a week and killed at least 24 people. Photographer: Benjamin Fanjoy/Bloomberg via Getty Images ( )
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This photo shows a firefighter at the scene of the Auto Fire in Ventura, California, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (@VCFD_PIO/X)
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PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds continue to burn across Los Angeles County, with some containment achieved. According to reports, 24 people have died with over 180,000 people under evacuation order or warning. Over 12,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, while more than 35,000 acres have burned. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) ( )
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PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds continue to burn across Los Angeles County, with some containment achieved. According to reports, 24 people have died with over 180,000 people under evacuation order or warning. Over 12,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, while more than 35,000 acres have burned. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) ( )
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PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds continue to burn across Los Angeles County, with some containment achieved. According to reports, 24 people have died with over 180,000 people under evacuation order or warning. Over 12,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, while more than 35,000 acres have burned. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) ( )
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MALIBU, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: An aerial view of utility vehicles parked near beachfront homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Malibu, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds continue to burn across Los Angeles County, with some containment achieved. According to reports, 24 people have died with over 180,000 people under evacuation order or warning. Over 12,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, while more than 35,000 acres have burned. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) ( )
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PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds continue to burn across Los Angeles County, with some containment achieved. According to reports, 24 people have died with over 180,000 people under evacuation order or warning. Over 12,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, while more than 35,000 acres have burned. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) ( )
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PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds continue to burn across Los Angeles County, with some containment achieved. According to reports, 24 people have died with over 180,000 people under evacuation order or warning. Over 12,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, while more than 35,000 acres have burned. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) ( )
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PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: An aerial view of a fire truck near homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire as wildfires cause damage and loss through the LA region on January 13, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds continue to burn across Los Angeles County, with some containment achieved. According to reports, 24 people have died with over 180,000 people under evacuation order or warning. Over 12,000 structures have been destroyed or damaged, while more than 35,000 acres have burned. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) ( )
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Patrick O'Neal sifts through his home after it was destroyed by the Palisades wildfire on January 13, 2025 in Malibu, California. (Brandon Bell)
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Utah firefighters responding to the Palisades Fire near Los Angeles, California on Jan. 11, 2024. (Utah Unified Fire)
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An Arizona fire crew on scene at the Eaton Fire near Pasadena, California on Jan. 8, 2025. (Rich Jones/Arizona Forestry Battalion Chief assigned to Task Force 1 )
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Engines ready in Nevada to respond to the California wildfires. (Las Vegas Fire and Rescue)
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Texas wildland firefighters ready to travel to California to help with the LA wildfires. (Houston Fire Department)
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A man looks out over the wreckage of his home from the Palisades Fire. (Annestacia Komarovsk via Storyful)
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Fire personnel respond to homes destroyed while a helicopter drops water as the Palisades Fire grows in Pacific Palisades, California on January 7, 2025. A fast-moving wildfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked panic, with thousands ordered to evacuate January 7, 2025 as "life threatening" winds whipped the region. (DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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A fire fighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades fire grows near the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and Encino, California, on January 11, 2025. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
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A helicopter makes a water drop on fire that encroaches on a home in the Mandeville Canyon area where homes were evacuated on Saturday, January 11, 2025. (Mindy Schauer/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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A firefighter works on a hillside during the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles, California, US, on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. At least two rounds of vicious, dry Santa Ana winds are expected to blast through Southern California early this week, bringing powerful gusts that will challenge fire crews struggling to contain two destructive blazes and likely force thousands more residents to evacuate. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images ( )
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A cadaver dog, from the Los Angeles County Sheriff, sniffs through the rubble of beachfront properties destroyed by the Palisades Fire along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 12, 2025. US officials warned "dangerous and strong" winds were set to push deadly wildfires further through Los Angeles residential areas January 12 as firefighters struggled to make progress against the flames. At least 24 people have been confirmed dead from blazes that have ripped through the city, reducing whole neighborhoods to ashes and leaving thousands without homes. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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ALTADENA CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 12: A sign reading 'Looters will be shot' stands in a mandatory evacuation zone at the Eaton Fire on January 12, 2025 in Altadena, California. The death toll from the Eaton Fire rose to 16 today as search and rescue teams go through the ruins of thousands of homes. More than 7,000 structures, mostly homes, were damaged or destroyed as a powerful Santa Ana wind event pushed flames farther into the city than even many fire experts expected. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) ( )
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Firefighters work while smoke rises because of the growing Palisades fire in Los Angeles, California, on January 11, 2025. The Palisades Fire, the largest among the Los Angeles wildfires, pushed into new neighborhoods on January 11, prompting additional evacuations and diminishing optimism for containment. Since January 7, several fires have ravaged residential areas across the city, leaving at least 16 people dead and reducing thousands of homes to rubble. US President Joe Biden compared the destruction to a "war zone." (Photo by Ali Matin / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by ALI MATIN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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BRENTWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 11: Fire air operations drop fire retardant, on flames from the Palisades Fire, along Mandeville Canyon, photographed from the Mountaingate development, above Mandeville, January 11, 2025, in the Brentwood community of Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images) ( )
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SYLMAR, CA - JANUARY 08: The Hurst fire burns in the hills above Sylmar, CA on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
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CALIFORNIA, USA - JANUARY 10: Firefighting planes and helicopters dump water on flames during the Kenneth Fire in West Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States on January 10, 2025. (Photo by Jon Putman/Anadolu via Getty Images) ( )
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Flames from the Palisades Fire burn along the ridge line near Mandeville Canyon while fire crews attempt to prevent northern expansion toward homes around and into the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2024. The fire has set in place new evacuation warnings and can be seen near Encino and Tarzana neighborhoods. (Photo by Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) ( )
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A fire fighting helicopter drops water as the Palisades fire grows near the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood and Encino, California, on January 11, 2025. The Palisades Fire, the largest of the Los Angeles fires, spread toward previously untouched neighborhoods January 11, forcing new evacuations and dimming hopes that the disaster was coming under control. Across the city, at least 11 people have died as multiple fires have ripped through residential areas since January 7, razing thousands of homes in destruction that US President Joe Biden likened to a "war scene." (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) ( )
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LOS ANGELES, USA - JANUARY 11: A view of wildfires in Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles, United States on January 11, 2025. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, California. (Robert Ray)
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Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, California. (Robert Ray)
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Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, California. (Robert Ray)
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Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, California. (Robert Ray)
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Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, California. (Robert Ray)
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Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, California. (Robert Ray)
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Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, California. (Robert Ray)

Officials said at least 24 people have been killed as a result of the wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area, and dozens of people remain missing.

The death toll is expected to rise as investigators continue to search the rubble of burned structures with K9s and cadaver dogs.

"It is a very grim task. And unfortunately, every day we're doing this, we're running across the remains of individual community members," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. "That is not easy work."

Crews from across the U.S. and around the world have gathered in Southern California to join in on the around-the-clock fight against the wildfires that continue to scorch the landscape.

Santa Ana winds add to ‘particularly dangerous’ fire weather threat in Southern California

The fire threat in Southern California has again reached critical levels, and forecasters have issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation Fire Weather Warning due to dry conditions, low relative humidity and the return of Santa Ana winds.

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation Fire Weather Warning for much of the Inland Empire and Interstate 5 corridor north of Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The FOX Forecast Center said that strong Santa Ana winds have been ongoing across the region as the long-duration, multi-round fire weather event hits its peak.

For most, the winds are not as strong as they were last week when the infernos began to burn everything in their path. However, they’re still dangerous and could help new or existing fires show erratic behavior and spread rapidly.

This graphic shows the Fire Weather Warnings in effect in Southern California.

(FOX Weather)

Winds are actually stronger in Ventura County than what was experienced last week, however.

The FOX Forecast Center said that in the valleys, northeasterly winds have been sustained between 20 and 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph.

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This graphic shows the fire threat in California on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.(FOX Weather)

A few 70-mph gusts are also possible in parts of the San Gabriel, Santa Susana and western Santa Monica mountains.

The FOX Forecast Center said that there will be occasional lulls in the winds, but any decrease in winds through Tuesday night will be brief.

Fire Weather Warnings that are in effect across much of the region are expected to expire on Wednesday.

Significant weakening of the winds is expected on Thursday as many areas see a shift to onshore winds, which will also bring in some increasing humidity that will aid in the firefight.

Be sure to download the free FOX Weather app and enable notifications to be alerted to new developments with the Auto Fire as well as other fires burning in the Los Angeles area.