Ventura is asking residents to limit water use during the mountain fire

The city of Ventura asked residents to limit their water use as emergency crews attempted to put out the water Mountain fire Wednesday evening.

The fast-spreading wildfire quickly burned across more than 10,400 acres after sparking near Moorpark in Ventura County. Fire officials attributed the magnitude of the explosion to the Santa Ana winds, which triggered a red flag warning. In this particular case, they issued a “Particularly Hazardous Situation” warning because of the danger posed by “an ongoing or impending fire weather pattern.”

Meteorologists observed some wind gusts reaching more than 60 miles per hour as the fire burned.

According to VCFD, the strong winds grounded fixed-wing firefighting aircraft, posing another hurdle to full containment.

“The fire is burning in what we call a mixed area, which is a mix of wildland and a lot of agriculture,” said VCFD Capt. Anthony McHale. “There are a number of homes, ranches and smaller neighborhoods that are located in the mixed area and that presents tremendous challenges for emergency responders on the scene.”

With its air support suspended, the city of Ventura asked residents to help firefighters by refraining from non-essential water use, such as watering lawns and gardens, until further notice.

“Limiting water use during this time will help ensure firefighters have a readily available water supply for firefighting,” city leaders wrote on Facebook.

Multiple departments responded to the fire, including Cal Fire San Luis Obispo, Ventura County Fire Department, Santa Barbara Fire Department and Glendale Fire Department. Santa Clara County authorities also sent resources, including a fire truck from the San Jose Fire Department and units from county fire and the Gilroy Fire Department.