{"id":8351,"date":"2026-05-19T09:53:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T16:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/news\/7649673\/more-than-17000-under-evacuation-orders-as-southern-california-wildfire-threatens-homes\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T03:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:00:10","slug":"more-than-17000-under-evacuation-orders-as-southern-california-wildfire-threatens-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8351\/more-than-17000-under-evacuation-orders-as-southern-california-wildfire-threatens-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"More than 17,000 under evacuation orders as Southern California wildfire threatens homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) \u2014 More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes.<\/p>\n

The wind-driven Sandy Fire<\/a> was reported Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

By Tuesday morning, it had consumed more than two square miles (five square kilometers) of dry brush and destroyed at least one home<\/a>, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.<\/p>\n

The flames were initially pushed by gusts that topped 30 mph (48 kph), but firefighters were aided by calmer winds overnight, said department spokesperson Andrew Dowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions,\u201d Dowd said. Crews hoped to make further progress before winds increased again, he said.<\/p>\n

The fire was 5% contained. The cause is under investigation.<\/p>\n

Evacuation orders and warnings were still in place for several neighborhoods in Simi Valley, a city of more than 125,000 people that was shrouded in smoke as aircraft made water drops.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, firefighters were battling a 23-square-mile (59-square-kilometer) blaze on Santa Rosa Island, off the Southern California coast. The fire destroyed a cabin and an equipment shed and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees.<\/p>\n

There was no containment as of Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

Santa Rosa, a popular destination for camping and hiking, is home to island foxes, spotted skunks and elephant seals.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
A resident uses a smartphone as the Sandy Fire approaches, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo\/Caroline Brehman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
A resident evacuates during as the Sandy Fire approaches, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo\/Caroline Brehman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Matt and Kim Brantley bring firefighters snacks and refreshments with their kids during wildfires, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo\/Caroline Brehman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Firefighters battle the Sandy Fire Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo\/Caroline Brehman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
A firefighter conducts a firing operation, as the Sandy Fire approaches, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo\/Caroline Brehman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) \u2014 More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as a wildfire threatened suburban homes. The wind-driven Sandy Fire was reported Monday in the hills above Simi Valley, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. By Tuesday morning, it had consumed more than two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":8360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"cad6ec63-d5ef-4590-b3d9-2f1dcc892596","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"","published":"2026-05-19 09:53:50","updated":"2026-05-20 02:45:42","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1737,1738],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-8351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"post_modified":"2026-05-20T03:00:10","post_modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T10:00:10","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/inhome-6776e7efdaf424392599887e324cd274722f1fe7a9c316fc065db05f55114f22.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8351"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9059,"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8351\/revisions\/9059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8351"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.infonews.ca\/inhome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=8351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}