SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRES ADVISORY NO. 2 07 December 2017

The Philippine Consulate General informs all Filipinos and Filipino-Americans that based on information from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Ventura County Fire Department and Los Angeles Fire Department, these are the updates on the four active fires in Southern California.

Thomas Fire

Based on information from the Ventura County website, the Thomas Fire is currently at 96,000 Acres with 5% Containment. Overnight, the fire reportedly experienced extreme fire behavior with rapid rates of spread due to the predicted strong Santa Ana winds. Significant fire growth was observed North of the city of Ojai. The fire is also moving north toward the Santa Barbara County Line and Lake Casitas as well as toward the Los Padres National Forest and the Sespe Wilderness. Firefighters continue to work aggressively to protect life and property while working on control efforts around the fire perimeter.

The city of Ventura Police Department has declared a curfew in response to the fire. Effective December 5, 2017 a curfew is in effect starting at 10pm and ending at 5am daily.

The County of Ventura, City of Santa Paula, City of Ojai and City of Ventura have all proclaimed a local emergency.

According to the county website, Casitas Municipal Water District has issued a boil water order for the Upper Ojai Valley, Casitas Springs Foster Park and entire City of Ventura due to loss of pressure and water supply from the fire related power outages. All tap water used for drinking and cooking should be boiled to a rolling boil for approximately 1 minute. This is the preferred method to ensure water is safe to drink.

Creek Fire

Mandatory evacuations remain in place within the zone of North of the 210, from Glenoaks Blvd. to Haines Canyon Ave., South of the 210, West of Sunland/Stonehurst, and North of La Tuna Canyon Rd. Mandatory evacuations include portions of the communities of Kagel Canyon, Lakeview Terrace, Sunland, Sylmar, Pacoima, Lopez Canyon, Shadow Hills.

The fire will continue to impact multiple communities in the immediate area including; Santa Clarita, Glendale, Olive View, Lakeview Terrace, Sunland, Shadow Hills, Sylmar, Pacoima, Lopez Canyon, and Kagel Canyon.

There are 1, 686 fire personnel assigned to the Creek Fire to assist with structure protection and firefighting operations. Firefighters are challenged by high winds, poor access and steep, rugged terrain.

More than 150,000 residents have been evacuated. Damage assessment teams are on location with reports of at least 2, 500 structures threatened, 15 structures destroyed and 15 structures damaged.

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Rye Fire

The fire has burned 7, 000 acres in the Santa Clarita Valley in Los Angeles County with 15% containment. 5, 430 structures are threatened with one structure destroyed.

Firefighters made progress throughout the night constructing and holding perimeter fire lines. The return of strong offshore winds are a major concern today, 07 December 2017, and residents are reminded to stay vigilant as conditions can quickly change.

Evacuation centers have been set up at the following locations: Valencia High School (500 Bradford Ave., Placentia) and College of the Canyons (26455 Rockwell Canyon Rd., Santa Clarita).

Skirball Fire

The fire is now at 475 acres with 5% containment. Over 400 LAFD firefighters are assigned to the Skirball Fire with additional resources from neighboring agencies. 11 structures are damaged with 4 structures destroyed.

Emergency shelters have been set up at the following locations: Balboa Recreation Center (17015 Burbank Blvd, Encino); Delano Recreation Center (15100 Erwin St, Van Nuys); Westwood Recreation Center (1350 S Sepulveda Bl); Van Nuys Recreation Center (14301 Vanowen St) Cheviot Hills Recreation Center (2551 Motor Ave, Cheviot Hills).

The Philippine Consulate General refers to the information received from the USDA Forest Service and Predictive Services website called the Santa Ana Wildfire Threat Index which categorized the wildfire threat levels in the California region and has issued the following threat levels for these areas:

THREAT LEVELS ZONES/ 07 December 08 December 09 December 10 December AREAS 2017 2017 2017 2017 Los Angeles- High (With Marginal Marginal Moderate Ventura Active Fires Orange Marginal Marginal Moderate County-Inland Extreme Empire San Diego Extreme Marginal Moderate Moderate

Santa Barbara Marginal No rating No rating No rating The data shown here can be found at: http://sawti.fs.fed.us/#8/33.996/-119.193

Legend: NO RATING: Sundowner winds are either not expected, or will not contribute to significant fire activity. MARGINAL: Upon ignition, fires may grow rapidly. MODERATE: Upon ignition, fires will grow rapidly and will be difficult to control. HIGH: Upon ignition, fires will grow very rapidly, will burn intensely, and will be very difficult to control EXTREME: Upon ignition, fires will have extreme growth, will burn very intensely, and will be uncontrollable.

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The Philippine Consulate General is continuously coordinating with government officials and Filipino- American communities in obtaining situation reports on the fires.

The Philippine Consulate General reiterates its advice to all kababayans in the affected areas to undertake all necessary precautions and take heed of the warning and orders of local authorities.

For the Thomas Fire, list of the areas ordered for mandatory and voluntary evacuations, shelters, school closures and road closures, can be found at the Ventura County website through this link: http://www.readyventuracounty.org/. For updates on the Thomas Fire, please check the Twitter Feed of the Ventura County Fire Department (@VCFD); or call the incident information hotline at (805) 465-6650.

For the Creek and Skirball Fires, please check the social media accounts and Twitter Feed of the Los Angeles Fire Department (@LAFD, @lacofdpio & @LACo_FD) and follow the Los Angeles Police Department’s Twitter account (@LAPDFoothill). For more information, please contact the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Public Information Office at (323) 881-2413.

For the Rye Fire, updates can be found at the social media accounts of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Department via Twitter at https://twitter.com/SCVSHERIFF or via Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/SantaClaritaValleySheriffsStation/

In case of a life-threatening emergency, please call 9-1-1 immediately. For any assistance, the Philippine Consulate General may be reached at its emergency hotline: 1 (213) 268-9990 or ATN hotline at 1 (213) 587-0758. END

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