More than 17,000 residents have been ordered to leave their homes as the Sandy wildfires burn near Los Angeles, with officials issuing an ‘immediate threat to life’ warning while the fire remains out of control.
The evacuation order was issued by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) on Tuesday, as strengthening winds pushed the flames and made containment efforts significantly more difficult.
The alert covers multiple neighbourhoods in Simi Valley — a city of over 125,000 people located around 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Simi Valley is also home to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the final resting place of the 40th US President and his wife, Nancy Reagan.
As the wildfire expands, areas near Thousand Oaks could also be at risk, potentially threatening a number of high-profile properties. The community has long been known for celebrity residents, with names linked to the area including Britney Spears, Jamie Foxx, Heather Locklear and Tom Selleck.
In the latest Cal Fire update, the blaze has grown to 1,400 acres and is only five percent contained. Officials have confirmed at least one home has already been destroyed.
Despite the size of the fire and the challenging weather, responders say they believe they can make further gains before conditions allow it to run further.
Earlier, wind gusts of roughly 30mph intensified fire behaviour and complicated suppression work. However, calmer conditions overnight have helped crews make headway.
Cal Fire spokesperson Andrew Dowd said: “We’ve made a lot of progress against this fire with those improved weather conditions.”
Firefighters are also dealing with another major incident nearby. A separate wildfire on Santa Rosa Island, off the Southern California coast, has now burned across 23 square miles and continues to grow.
Cal Fire reports the Santa Rosa Island fire is still uncontained and has reached 14,600 acres.
The island is a well-known camping destination, and the fire is also raising concerns for local wildlife, including island foxes, spotted skunks and elephant seals.
Authorities say investigations into what caused both fires are still ongoing.
The new flare-ups follow an exceptionally punishing 2025 fire season in California, which began with the widely reported LA wildfires that tore through neighbourhoods, killing 30 people and forcing thousands from their homes.
That destructive start was followed by numerous other large blazes across the state over the course of the year.
By the end of 2025, California had recorded 8,036 fires that burned 525,223 acres (212,550 ha). For perspective, that’s close to the area of just under 400,000 football fields, or roughly twice the size of Los Angeles.
An estimated 16,500 people lost their homes during those fires. So far, 2026 has been less devastating by comparison, with seven documented structures destroyed in the first five months of the year.
There have also been no reported deaths to date in 2026 — a fact that underscores why current evacuation orders are being treated as critical for keeping residents safe as conditions evolve.