The new Sandy Fire in the Simi Valley area of Southern California has residents on edge. Simi Valley is home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the burial site of the 40th U.S. president and his wife Nancy Reagan, as well as rock star Bret Michaels of the band Poison, who owns a home there.
Michaels took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a video from his residence, with smoke visible in the background. 'To all our Southern California friends & fans in the path of this current fire, please stay safe. We are thinking of you & grateful for our awesome firefighters!' he wrote.
The flames are reportedly heading toward Thousand Oaks, where celebrities including Britney Spears, Heather Locklear, Jamie Foxx, and Tom Selleck own mansions. Spencer Pratt, who is running for mayor of Los Angeles, posted about the fire, noting that residents have been using pool pumps and fire hoses to prepare.
More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California on Tuesday as the wildfire threatened suburban homes, according to the Associated Press. 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 square miles (five square kilometers) of dry brush and destroyed at least one home, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. The flames were initially pushed by gusts topping 30 mph (48 kph), but firefighters were aided by calmer winds overnight, said department spokesperson Andrew Dowd.
'We've made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions,' Dowd said. Crews hoped to make further progress before winds increased again. The fire was 5% contained, and the cause is under investigation.
Evacuation orders and warnings remained in place for several neighborhoods in Simi Valley, a city of more than 125,000 people that was shrouded in smoke as aircraft conducted water drops. Meanwhile, firefighters were battling a 23-square-mile (59-square-kilometer) blaze on Santa Rosa Island, off the Southern California coast.
That fire destroyed a cabin and an equipment shed and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees. There was no containment as of Tuesday morning. Santa Rosa Island, a popular destination for camping and hiking, is home to island foxes, spotted skunks, and elephant seals.
