THE mountain fire has already burned more than 14,000 acres in Southern California’s Ventura County, and authorities are closely monitoring where the fire could spread on Thursday, November 7. The brush fire broke out at 9:30 a.m. PT Wednesday before quickly burning through several communities in the county, burning homes in Camarillo and prompting the evacuation of thousands in the area. At 10:38 a.m. Thursday, CalFire said the fire still remains at 0% containment. This is where local firefighters are warning the Mountain Fire could spread.

Where could the Mountain Fire spread?

The Mountain Fire has the potential to spread eastward during the day, according to Ventura County Fire Capt. Trevor Johnson during a news conference Thursday (via ABC7).

Johnson says the department’s fire priority is on the northeast side, which is “north of the community of Somis and south of the community of Santa Paula.” Indeed, the region’s daily winds are generally due to winds coming from the west, potentially pushing the fire east. He says the fire threatens a mix of populated areas and the “backcountry” that includes ranches on the hills.

Winds of more than 80 mph in Santa Ana on Wednesday along with dry brush in the area contributed to wildfires breaking out across the region. The conditions were so severe that National Weather Service issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation” alert in addition to red flag warnings in the region, an advisory that is only issued once every few years, according to CBS. Johnson expects a similar wind incident in Santa Ana could occur later, early next week.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but a fire investigation team is on the scene.

Andrew Smith of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said several damage assessment teams have been deployed so far to determine the extent of the damage.

Official updates on Mountain Fire can be found at CalFirewith the latest status reports available on this page.

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