Santa Ana winds are expected to return to Southern California next week, bringing a new round of red flag warnings and an increased risk of wildfires.

Ventura County Fire Capt. Trevor Johnson said everyone is preparing for this.

“Our goal is to not only take care of the entire community here, but also to stabilize this incident so we can free up resources and be ready for the next fire,” he said.

Johnson said the Mountain Fire is not staffed at full capacity, allowing crews to be ready to fight another fire should one break out.

“Should another incident arise, we are fully prepared to handle that as well,” he said.

Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner responded to reports that crews were running out of water Wednesday evening. Gardner explained that crews at a lower altitude had water and were able to carry water to the crews.

“It’s a normal operation, running out of water,” he explained during a press conference on Thursday. “I don’t want to say it’s abnormal, but it’s normal enough that we plan for it. So it has an impact, but it will be mitigated.”

Garnder said hundreds of fire trucks were on the front lines Wednesday evening and pumping water throughout the night.

“We’ve been fighting the fire for 26 hours, and we’ve had all these fire trucks hooked up to all these hydrants and we’ve drained the water systems,” he said.

Gardner said county and Cal OES crews are working to ensure all water resources are ready to go.

CHP Officer Gregory Bowcock’s family lost their home in the mountain fire. The family of six grabbed what they could and fled as flames rose toward their home.

Officer Bowcock’s work SUV was completely charred and his house was burned to the ground. Four generations of his family have lived in this house.

The family’s religious community helped them find an Airbnb to stay in temporarily.

Bowcock’s son Mac helped keep his siblings safe.

“I was running around grabbing things that we needed and trying to get the kids to safety because I don’t want to lose them, because they’re my siblings, so I don’t want to lose them. “Our I miss home, but it’s better that we still have our lives,” Mac said.

Thursday is Officer Bowcock’s birthday.

Erika Bauer walked through what remained of her childhood home Thursday morning. Her parents have lived in the Las Posas Estates community in Camarillo since 1978. The home held so many memories for her family

“I can’t believe it’s gone. I don’t even know what to say right now. It’s surreal. I know we live in a fire danger zone, but it came out of nowhere, it was so fast,” Bauer described.

THE mountain fire burned their beloved home to ashes.

Bauer said his parents were home when the flames rushed toward their property. Her mother was able to help her blind father evacuate safely before their home was engulfed in flames.