Firefighters continued to increase their control of the Sandy Fire that ignited May 18 in the Simi Valley hills.
As of May 23, 61% of a fire that burned nearly 2,200 acres was contained, up from 40% a day earlier. Firefighters continued to look for hot spots and do mop-up work. The weather is providing an assist in the form of the marine layer known as May gray.
“Everything is looking really good” said Trevor Johnson, Ventura County Fire Department operations section chief, in a morning update.
About 884 firefighters were working the fire as of Saturday morning in a number that was decreasing.
The blaze erupted Monday and brought evacuation orders and warnings for thousands of residents. The fire destroyed one home and damaged two structures.
The fire also caused school cancellations that continued through Friday. Students in the Simi Valley Unified School District have Monday off because of Memorial Day but are scheduled to return to school on Tuesday.
“We will not need to extend the school year to make up for the days schools were closed due to the fire emergency,” Superintendent Hani Yousef posted on Facebook, noting the district would pursue a state waiver.
Campuses that have ash present will be power-washed over the Memorial Day weekend, Yousef said.
The Sandy Fire was one of two fires in the area as the Santa Rosa Island Fire burned in the Channel Islands. That fire sat at 72% containment with 18,379 acres burned as of 11 a.m. May 23.
“Everything has been going pretty good and there haven’t been any drastic changes,” said National Park Service spokesperson Denise Foerster.
Ernesto Centeno Araujo contributed to this report.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Officials say Sandy Fire efforts ‘looking really good’ on Saturday
Reporting by Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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