For a second straight night, firefighters battling the Sandy fire held the fire’s size, but prepared for another day of challenging morning winds.
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“Fire activity again diminished overnight, however light offshore winds are expected through the morning before switching to onshore flow through the remainder of the day,” officials wrote in a morning update.
The blaze, burning at the southern end of Simi Valley in Ventura County, remained at 1,698 acres and was at 5% containment, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
After holding the fire back early Tuesday, the blaze picked up again in the afternoon, increasing in size by more than 300 acres and crossing Albertson Fire Road to the south before firefighters got a handle on it again.
The fire was first reported just before 11 a.m. Monday, May 18, near Sandy Avenue, a small residential street on the south side of Simi Valley, officials said.
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Though the cause is still under investigation, Simi Valley police confirmed Tuesday, May 19, that they received a call from a man who told them he was driving a tractor and hit a rock, causing a spark that started a brush fire, Sgt. Rick Morton said.
Additional evacuation orders were made Tuesday afternoon, extending previously ordered evacuations farther east to East Los Angeles Avenue. All evacuation orders and warnings remained in place Wednesday morning.
Simi Valley Unified School District schools and campuses were again closed Wednesday, including all after-school programs and activities.
One structure has been destroyed by the fire, officials said. Nearly 900 firefighters were on hand battling the blaze.
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