Hill Fire Closes 101 near Camarillo Springs

Highway 101 closed under the threat of the Hill Fire on Thursday afternoon, which was headed from Santa Rosa Road near Moorpark to the Pacific Ocean.

Wind gusts over 40 mph propelled a fire on the western edge of Newbury Park into a blaze of 10,000-plus acres within two hours. The Hill Fire broke out at 2 p.m. near Santa Rosa Road and Hill Canyon, and had swept across an area burned in 2013’s Springs Fire by 4 p.m., the Los Angeles Times reported. The 101 is under a full closure, the Ventura County Fire Department stated at 3 p.m., with 165 firefighters called out and eight air tankers ordered. Among them is a strike team of five engines, a battalion chief and handcrew, and two dozers from Santa Barbara County Fire, deployed to protect residences at Camarillo Springs.

Steep terrain makes the area inaccessible to ground crews, but the high winds are impeding an air attack, Fire Capt. Stan Ziegler told the Times. Weather data indicates humidity values in the single digits. A Red Flag Warning was called starting Thursday morning, with stronger winds predicted Thursday night into Friday morning.

The neighborhoods of Camarillo Springs, Dos Vientos, and CSU Channel Islands are under mandatory evacuation. Hill Canyon is a hiking area, and hikers and a water treatment plant there have also been evacuated.