【1991 Archives】

Horse owners fled with their animals Wednesday morning as a new blaze erupted991 ArchivesSouthern California's parched terrain.

The wind-whipped Easy Fire, born near Easy Street in the city of Simi Valley north of Los Angeles, made a vigorous run at Ronald Reagan's hillside presidential library, but the blaze, promptly attacked by firefighters, has so far been stopped near the edges of the landmark. Yet flames have spread over some 1,300 acres while threatening more than 7,000 homes, according to the Ventura County Fire Department (as of 11 a.m. PST).

"We were able to protect the library," said Ventura County Fire Chief Chad Cook at a press conference. But Cook noted the entire region is still under threat.

Sprawling Southern California is experiencing a stretch of particularly extreme fire weather, wherein a nasty confluence of powerful fall winds, profoundly dried-out land, and human development and activity (like sparks from cars or power lines) in fire country produce rapidly moving blazes.

What's more, 21st-century wildfires have the added benefit of a relentlessly warming climate. Recent research has found the climate-driven drying of California's vegetation makes fires easier to start. And once started, these blazes then spread rapidly over greater areas than in previous decades.

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At October's end, much of California's brush is yellow, brown and withered. And for the next two days, dry winds gusting east from the desert (called Santa Ana winds) will create explosive conditions.

"This presents itself as very high fire danger," National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Tardy said Tuesday night. Tardy added that the region's fire-prone vegetation, or fuels, are at "near-record lows" for moisture.

Foreseeing the spread of flames, the local Ventura Country Sheriff has so far issued evacuations to some 7,000 homes on Wednesday, meaning about 26,000 people, and their horses (there are lots of horse owners in the area).

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Extreme winds are projected to blow over Southern California through Thursday. For some, it will be a smoky, and truly unsettling, Halloween.