The City of Ventura asked its residents to limit their water use as crews tried to extinguish the Mountain Fire Wednesday night. The rapidly-spreading wildfire quickly burned through more than 10,400 acres after sparking near Moorpark in Ventura County. Firefighters attributed the explosion in size to the Santa Ana winds that prompted a Red Flag warning. In this particular instance, they issued a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” alert because of the threat posed by “an ongoing or imminent fire weather pattern.” Meteorologists tracked some gusts of wind that reached more than 60 miles per hour as the fire burned. The strong winds grounded firefighting fixed-wing aircraft, adding another hurdle toward full containment, according to Ventura County Fire Department.

Other wildfire articles:

• KCLU (Thousand Oaks, Calif.): Residents urged to restrict all non-essential water use so it is available to fight Mountain Fire
• The Washington Post: ‘Extremely critical’ fire weather expected in California
• Weather & Radar: West fire risk, East flood threat
• LAist: Still at 0% containment, Mountain Fire in Ventura continues charge toward ocean
• The Guardian: Californians forced to flee as ferocious wildfires destroy homes and buildings