(Originally published at 7 a.m. PST November 11, 2018)
The spread of the Woolsey Fire was not as extreme Saturday as it was Thursday and Friday, but it was still active in the Malibu area, on the east side along Las Virgenes Road, and on the west side near Yerba Buena Road.
Saturday evening fire officials said 177 structures have been destroyed.
(To see all articles about the Woolsey Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click here.)
Friday night the L.A. County Coroner confirmed that two people were found deceased, severely burned in a vehicle. Those are the only fatalities confirmed so far, which is a much lower number than the 23 fatalities discovered on the Camp Fire at Paradise in Northern California.
A mapping flight Saturday determined that the fire has burned 96,030 acres.
More than 200,000 residents are under evacuation orders.
With so much active fire and little containment, firefighters will be challenged to keep the fire from growing while a Red Flag Warning is in effect Sunday through Tuesday. Forecasters expect northeast winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts at 45 to 55, along with single digit relative humidities. There will be little humidity recovery during the night during this period. The strongest winds will be Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The greatest threat from these winds will be the southwest side of the fire, south of Newbury Park and Hidden Valley and east of NAS Point Mugu.
Often we forget South Cal is mostly a desert. I lived there for 26 years. When living there I always amazed at how officials managed the water supply. It rained only a few days in Winter/Spring. From late Spring to Fall it could be fine and shining every day and all single homes have green front yards. With global warming it is getting worse gradually.
Does not help that the CA climate change loving cities keep building 1000’s of homes in known fire paths. known fire paths that mostly frown wind driven flashy fuel fires. many are housing projects are zero lot lines, exposure less than 5 feet away. plus, one way in and one way out street designs. they are fire traps, tax dollars and profits over safety? people forget these area burn hot and windy just about every 10-20 years. only thing new is more populated than ever. I have seen it burn from Gorman to Malibu with spotting miles ahead. I shake my head, people forget how deadly that area has been, will always be and the next one will be worse. just to note: i grew up in this area and watched our ranch burn 3 times. that ranch now has stacks of homes that once were grasslands and now open space land above that. meaning fuel loading into zero lot line homes. what could go wrong…..