A brush fire broke out Wednesday night near the Santa Clara River and Highway 126, along Acacia Road in Santa Paula. Ventura County Fire Department reported this at about 7 p.m. in the 600 block of Acacia Road.
Initial reports estimated the fire to cover 2 acres, with the potential to grow to 5 acres due to heavy vegetation in the area. By 7:35 p.m., firefighters had surrounded the fire with a “wet line” using hoses, effectively halting forward progress by 8 p.m.
VCFD attributed the fast and coordinated response to the control of the fire. “Firefighters made an aggressive attack on this fire with multiple engines, one of our hand crews, and coordinated water drops by our Firehawk helicopters,” the department said. Crews stayed on the scene for an additional one to two hours to knock down hot spots.
On the same day that the Hughes Fire was burning out of control in Castaic, another fire, the Acacia Fire, had spread to nearly 9,400 acres by nightfall. In anticipation of the Hughes Fire, an evacuation order was given for areas close to Lake Piru, with the order going as far as the Los Angeles County line. Evacuation warnings for adjacent areas were set to remain in place until Thursday morning.
The Acacia Fire was finally contained without major damage or injuries. Helicopters initially assigned to the fire were later diverted to a remote rescue but were not needed in the end.
The swift actions of VCFD prevented the Acacia Fire from spreading further, thus showing the importance of rapid response and effective coordination in wildfire management.
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