Wind-driven fire triggers evacuations in Simi Valley; at least 1 home burned 1%
By Terry Castleman40%
5/18/2026, 6:13:00 PM
Topics: Wildfires, Emergency Response
BS Summary: This article contains 11 faulty reasoning types, including Quote-first Misdirection, Unattributed Quote, and Framing Effect, with Appeal to Authority as the most egregious example at 36.1% saturation with 112 hits. Analysis detected 358 faulty-reasoning hits from 310 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 1.9% and a BS Rank of 1% (21,782 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 99.50% of the article peer group.
A brush fire in Simi Valley moved into a neighborhood and burned at least one home and another structure after igniting Monday morning.
The Sandy fire broke out before 11 a.m. and was being driven by the wind.
It covered some 720 acres Monday afternoon and triggered evacuation orders for a wide swath of homes in southern Simi Valley, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
More than 28,600 people were under evacuation orders as of early Monday afternoon, said Natalie Hernández, a Ventura County spokesperson.
Some 8,200 additional residents were under evacuation warnings.
Evacuation warnings also stretched west into northern Thousand Oaks.
The fire was 0% contained as of early Monday afternoon, and some 500 firefighters were battling the blaze.
Dry Santa Ana winds were expected to continue until around 4 p.m., then shift to onshore winds that would ease by the evening.
“So far we’ve seen anywhere between 25 to 35 mph gusts in the valleys, and up to 40 mph on the ridge tops,” said Devin Black, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, of the conditions in Simi Valley.
“Through Tuesday, we’re expecting warm and dry conditions.”
Another round of slightly weaker offshore winds, expected to top out around 30 mph, was forecast around daybreak Tuesday, Black said.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley was closed as a precaution but was not subject to evacuation orders as of Monday afternoon.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said his department had sent resources to aid the firefighting in Simi Valley.
He said officials were closely monitoring its proximity to Westlake Village.
Marrone said his crews were also responding Monday to a small fire north of Glendora.
Times staff writer Grace Toohey contributed to this report.
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