Ventura County's Guiberson Fire - Day 3

Moorpark (myFOXla.com) - A fleet of helicopters made water drops as bulldozers carved firebreaks Thursday to stop a 25-square-mile wildfire burning through an agricultural region of Southern California.

 High heat and very low humidity kept fire danger high even though meteorologists said the dry Santa Ana winds that spread the flames through rural Ventura County were weakening.

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Live Wildfire Coverage:

Live Video: FOX 11 News Wildfire Coverage during regularly scheduled streaming newscasts and as warranted.

Evacuation Information:

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department is releasing evacuation updates via Twitter. Check or follow @VCSD for the latest information.

SHELTERS

Red Cross Shelter:
Goebel Senior Center
1385 E. Janns Road
Thousand Oaks, CA

Small Animals:
Ventura County Animal Regulation Simi Valley Facility
670 W. Los Angeles Avenue
Simi Valley, CA

Large Animals:
Ventura County Fairgrounds
Seaside Park. Call 805-388-4341.

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The 16,400-acre blaze northwest of Los Angeles was 40 percent surrounded, and the effort to increase containment involved 21 helicopters, 21 bulldozers, 214 fire engines and 1,800 firefighters. Eight air tankers were also available.

"It's a full attack," said Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Bill Nash.

Winds were ranging between 6 mph and 12 mph, about half the speeds of the previous day, he said. But triple-digit temperatures persisted along with relative humidity levels in single digits.

The fire erupted Tuesday north of the city of Moorpark and has spread and west through hills, mountains and agricultural lands, including avocado orchards. Two outbuildings have been destroyed and 75 homes, along with oil production sites and electrical transmission lines, remained threatened.

Efforts were being focused on the northeast corner of the fire, where helicopters were making drops with water taken out of the Santa Clara River, Nash said.

Eight injuries have been reported, none serious, he said.

The fire began near an agricultural mulch pile, but the cause remained under investigation, authorities said.

Firefighting costs topped $3 million.

Elsewhere in Southern California, a 16-year-old boy was arrested for investigation of starting a 475-acre wildfire Wednesday near Yucaipa in San Bernardino County. The fire was 60 percent contained.

The teenager was spotted on a bicycle where the blaze started, said Bill Peters, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Northeast of Los Angeles, the smoldering remnants of a month-old, 251-square-mile forest fire in the San Gabriel Mountains was listed as 94 percent contained, and officials expected to declare it fully surrounded by Thursday evening. Winds in the Angeles National Forest were also milder, but the air remained hot and dry.