As firefighting crews continued to battle the Mountain fire on Saturday, some residents were allowed to return to areas destroyed by the blaze to sift through the destruction to their homes.
As of 7am Pacific time on Saturday, the fire had been 17% contained, according to Cal Fire, the state’s wildfire-fighting agency.
As of Friday, 10 people had been injured from the fires, according to the Ventura county sheriff, James Fryhoff, the Associated Press reported.
Most of the injuries were from smoke inhalation, he said.
In a situation update on Saturday, Cal Fire said: “Weather conditions last night remained favorable with temperatures in the upper 40s to lower 50s with a light offshore flow that stayed around 10mph. Decreasing winds continue to assist crews with their aggressive fire attack. Terrain in some areas continue to be a challenge.”
They agency added: “Threats remain to critical infrastructure, highways and communities, while active fire continues to burn within islands of unburned fuel.”
But before fleeing a wildfire comes a decision: what to save. It often comes down to “the smallest things”, Dawn Deleon told ABC7 news. The Mountain fire destroyed her house in Ventura county, California, this week.
Cats, dogs and horses. Family photos and SD cards and mementos. A single bag of clothes.
It’s a choice becoming ever more common as the human-caused climate crisis adds fuel to the destructive wrath of wildfires around the world, especially in already fire-prone landscapes like southern California, with its strong Santa Ana winds that rustle flame-adapted vegetation.
The power of fire is evident. Palm trees turn to silhouettes against a raging orange wall. Firefighters push a vintage car through a haze of smoke. A woman clutches a scarf to her masked face as she leads her horse away from a burning hillside. Towering blazes strip homes to their foundations.
“It’s never a question of ‘if’ but rather ‘when’ and ‘how big’ when it comes to wildfires in southern California,” said Alex Hall, director of UCLA’s Center for Climate Science. He called the impact on lives, livelihoods and ecosystems “truly devastating”.
The flames forgive little. Lucky residents escape with their lives and the few things that matter most. The unlucky lose the irreplaceable.
Often, residents must return to sift through ash and rubble. Every now and then comes a surprising remnant – like a teapot with the word “blessed” in soot-covered cursive.
With thousands of residents forced to evacuate, some have also struggled to evacuate their horses.
Speaking to KTLA, equestrian trainer Robyn Fisher said that she started driving towards an equestrian facility to help evacuate stranded horses in Somis, a community in Ventura county that has been among the hardest hit by the fire.
Upon arriving at the facility, Fisher and her assistant found it already ablaze.
“We got there and loaded the horses as fast as we could,” Fisher told the outlet, adding: “You couldn’t see anything … There was fire all around us. You could feel the truck completely heat up.”
After unloading the first group of horses to safety, Fisher drove back to help other horse owners.
Recalling the scene to KTLA, Fisher said she saw some animals tied to trees while others walked alongside their owners on the side of the road.
“I stopped and said: ‘Do you guys need help?’ And they said: ‘Please, we don’t know what to do,’” she told the outlet.
Speaking to the Associated Press, resident Kelly Barton said that her parents’ 20-year-old retirement home in Camarillo completely burned down.
“This was their forever retirement home,” Barton told the outlet, adding: “Now in their 70s, they have to start over.”
One of her father’s vintage cars – a Chevy Nova he had owned since he was 18 years old – was burned to “toast”, Barton said, the Associated Press reports.
Firefighters recovered two safes and Barton’s parents’ collection of vintage door knockers.
