Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Thomas Fire Impacting Ventura County's Tech Industry
An uncontrolled, raging fire in Ventura County--which started in Santa Paula last night around 6:45pm, and rapidly spread to more than 25,000 acres early on Tuesday morning--is directly impacting the high tech corridor in Ventura County. The fire, which had made its way into the city limits of Ventura early in the Tuesday morning hours, burning behind the Ventura Ventures startup incubator and--based on Ventura County Fire Department reports several hours ago, at least 150 structures destroyed. Radio traffic from Ventura County Fire Department tactical channels have many people trapped in their homes and homes on fire in Ventura in what is a very fluid situation. In addition to the direct impact to the City of Ventura, power was out in many parts of Ventura County and Santa Barbara County due to the loss of critical power lines, and the California Independent System Operator (CASIO) has declared a local transmission emergency. Companies directly in the fire danger zone include all of the companies housed at the Ventura Ventures incubator, and The Trade Desk. Residents were being directed to Readyventuracounty.org for updates and evacuation notices.