Update: Containment progress - Sandy Fire in Ventura County at 5%
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Updated: 11:43 a.m. May 19
First discovered: 24 hours ago, 10:50 a.m. May 18
Initial location: Off Sandy Ave, Simi Valley, Ventura County, Calif.
Fire unit: Ventura County Fire Department
Fire type: Wildfire
Fire name: Sandy Fire
Sandy Fire initially started 10:50 a.m. May 18 off Off Sandy Ave, Simi Valley in Ventura County, California.
After being active for 24 hours, it has burned 1,386 acres. As of Tuesday noon, 5% of the fire was brought under containment. The cause of it remains under investigation.
Evacuation information from Cal Fire
Evacuation Orders
Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to LEAVE NOW. The area is lawfully closed to public access.
Evacuation Orders issued for the following zones:
BELL-01
BELL-02
BELL-03
BELL-04
BELL-05
BURR-01
CHES-01
MEIC-01
SASU-01
SASHU-02
Simi Valley 32a
Simi Valley 33a
Simi Valley 34
Simi Valley 35
Evacuation Warnings
Potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now.
Evacuation Warnings issued for the following zones:
AGO-C304
BOXC-02
BOXC-03
CAL-C401
CSB-U024
HID-C501
LAC-LAKEMANOR
LAC-WOODLSEY
LFD-0295
LFD-0343
LFD-0405
LFD-0469
LFD-0471
MTV-U048
WTH-U045
Animal Evacuation Shelters
Small Animal Shelter
Simi Valley Animal Shelter
670 W Los Angeles Avenue
Simi Valley, CA 93065
Large Animal Shelter
Ventura County Fairgrounds
10 E Harbor Blvd.
Ventura, CA 93001
Temporary Evacuation Point
A Temporary Evacuation Point will be open at 12:00 pm today:
Rancho Santa Susana Community Park
5005 Los Angeles Avenue
Simi Valley, CA 93063
Evacuation Shelters
Crestview Elementary and Mountain View Elementary schools have been evacuated to:
Simi Valley High School
5400 Cochran Street
Simi Valley, CA 93065
See live video from the area:
Https://cameras.alertcalifornia.org/?id=Axis-OatSouth2
Fire containment
What does it mean for a fire to be 5% contained?
Containment indicates what percentage of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line. In this case, it means that 5% of the wildfire is contained from spreading, while 95% is still uncontrolled.
Containment is part of a larger plan for managing a wildfire. It is normally expressed as a percentage and it refers to how much of the fire perimeter has been surrounded/enclosed by a control line that firefighters create. The containment percentage indicates a certain level of control, but it doesn't always correlate to safety level. Also, it's important to note that containment doesn't mean a fire is out.
How is containment measured?
The incident's central command constantly receives progress reports from firefighters on the ground. As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage. The percentage tells the public how much of the fire perimeter is believed to not go beyond the control lines.
Source: Cal Fire
United Robots Sacramento
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 1:37 AM.