The Simi Fire was a devastating 2003 wildfire that burned of land in the

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States. Geography The Simi Hills are aligned east-west and run for , and average aro ...

and southeastern

Simi Valley Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The ...

in eastern

Ventura County Ventura County () is a County (United States), county in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, California ...

and western Los Angeles County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The Simi Fire was one of multiple large, fast-moving, and destructive wildfires in Southern California in October 2003, in a fire siege that included the

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

, Old, and Grand Prix fires. The Simi Fire resulted in no fatalities, but did cause 21 injuries. The cause of the fire remains unknown. At its peak, the Simi Fire burned up to 10,000 acres an hour. It threatened the major foothill communities of

Porter Ranch Porter Ranch is a suburban neighborhood in the northwest San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. History New home construction that was completed in the Porter Ranch area in the 1990s–2000s, including the Renaiss ...

and Chatsworth after crossing from Ventura County into Los Angeles County. The fire threatened homes near Stevenson Ranch, though it burned none. It also forced the closure of the

Golden State Freeway Interstate 5 (I-5) is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the United States, stretching from the Mexican border at the San Ysidro crossing to the Canadian border near Blaine, Washington. The segment of I-5 in ...

(

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

) for more than 2.5 hours on October 29 as fire crews successfully worked to prevent it from jumping the freeway north of California State Route 14, near

Santa Clarita Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17t ...

. By the night of October 30, the Simi Fire was 40% contained. That number jumped to 85% by the night of October 31. The fire was declared 100% contained on November 1 when precipitation moved into the area and aided firefighters. Governor of California Gray Davis declared a state of emergency in Ventura and Los Angeles counties as a result of the Simi Fire and others burning concurrently.

References

{{California wildfires by year 2003 California wildfires Simi Hills Wildfires in Los Angeles County, California Wildfires in Ventura County, California History of Simi Valley, California Chatsworth, Los Angeles West Hills, Los Angeles

See also

References