California Wildfire Map Update as Laguna Fire Prompts Evacuations

The Laguna fire, one of the latest major blazes to strike Southern California, prompted new evacuation warnings in Ventura County on Thursday.

Why It Matters

A series of fast-moving fires, often aided by heavy winds, have devastated Southern California in recent weeks, killing dozens of residents, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate and burning down tens of thousands of houses and other structures.

On Wednesday, the Hughes fire broke out north of Los Angeles, quickly consuming over 10,000 acres in Los Angeles County and Ventura County. The Laguna fire began on Thursday.

The locations of several currently-burning fires in Southern California are pictured in this map image from Cal Fire. Cal Fire

What To Know

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD) initially issued an evacuation order for the Cal State University Channel Islands Campus shortly after the Laguna fire emerged on Thursday morning. However, authorities downgraded the order to an evacuation warning shortly before noon, noting that "progress" had been made in fighting the fire.

"Zones DOWNGRADED to Evacuation WARNING," reads an update posted by VCSD to X, formerly Twitter, at 11:50 a.m. Pacific Time. "Due to improving conditions and progress in fire suppression, the Evacuation Order has been downgraded to an EVACUATION WARNING."

At the time of publication, the Laguna fire had burned approximately 50 acres and was still listed at 0 percent containment, according to Cal Fire. Evacuation warnings, which indicate a "potential threat to life and/or property," were in effect for "Laguna Zone 1" and "Laguna Zone 2."

Potrero Road and Lewis Road were both closed due to the fire and residents "who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock" were urged to "leave now." An evacuation center was established at Camarillo Community Center, located at 1605 Bumley Street in Camarillo.

This is a developing story and will be updated.