Fire Teams Battled 2,183-Acre Sandy Fire in Simi Valley; Fully contained over a week later
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KEYT) – Fire crews responded to a 2,183-acre vegetation fire that started Monday, May 18 south of Simi Valley that triggered evacuation orders and warnings in the surrounding areas.
An information hotline was set up for those with questions at 805-465-6650 shared the Ventura County Emergency Information website.
As of Wednesday around 4:30 p.m., the Sandy Fire has officially been designated as fully contained.
The Ventura County Fire Department confirmed that all active evacuation orders for the Sandy Fire were lifted Friday, May 22, but five evacuation warnings remained in effect and all were lifted following Memorial Day weekend.
The image below details where the remaining over fire crews were battling the Sandy Fire on the morning of Wednesday, May 27, 2026 as the red border on the southern edge of the fire.
The green areas in the image below were under evacuation warnings and the purple areas in the image below had their evacuation orders and warnings lifted on Friday, May 22.
For the latest information, visit the Ventura County Sheriff's Emergency Services Incident Dashboard.
As the fire grew and changed direction over the course of the week, there were evacuation warnings in effect for parts of Los Angeles County, but all of those warnings were lifted.
A temporary evacuation point was set up at Rancho Santa Susana Community Park, but was closed at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, May 21 shared the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
On Friday morning, the Ventura County Fire Department shared an update on the fire.
Sandy Fire operational update with Chief Anthony Occhipinti:
— VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) May 22, 2026
The Sandy Fire is currently 2,141 acres and 40% contained, with 1,156 personnel assigned to the incident. Fire activity remained minimal overnight.
Weather conditions today are much improved, with a morning marine… pic.twitter.com/rDIKErbwMx
According to the Ventura County, the fire did not impact the nearby Santa Susana Field Laboratory, also known as the Rocketdyne facility, and crews were prioritizing the protection of the surrounding area.
People who live along Sandy Avenue, near where the fire started Monday, May 18, could see the countless water and fire retardant drops overhead.
Meredith Henderson watched with her sons.
"I'm in awe, I'm shocked I've never seen so many, this is absolutely unbelievable; the aircraft, the planes, the helicopters, it was like a war zone scene, they are just going back and forth, back and forth; doing such a good job to contain this and protect the house's we are so thankful for the fire crew and the pilots up there, we have been out here just watching in awe," said Henderson.
"I want to be a fireman when I grow up because it looks fun for some reason, I don't know why," said Nathaniel Henderson, " but, it is just crazy that all these planes and stuff are flying in."
People rushed home from work to check on loved ones.
John Rodriguez left his plumming office to check on his mother and grandmother.
"I looked over and I saw this huge plume of smoke, and it looked like a bomb went off, like a big atomic cloud, and I'm am like this is not good, so honestly, I got a little teary eyed," said Rodriguez.
Evacuation orders went out as the wind driven fire kept doubling in size, but that doesn't mean they were followed.
Some of these Phos-Chek and water drops just missed the hand crews that are trying to put a containment line around the fire.
Some of the hand crews are inmates who broke for lunch at dinner time.
The fire spread quickly Monday, sending up large plumes of smoke and the direction of the smoke impact and path of the flames changed throughout the day as the direction of high winds in the area changed.
School Closures
The Ventura County Office of Education shared Tuesday that classes and after-school activities have all been cancelled the entire week and through the Memorial Day holiday on May 25.
On Monday, students at Crestview Elementary and Mountain View Elementary were evacuated to Simi Valley High at 5400 Cochrane Street.
Signs were posted detailing how guardians could pickup their evacuated students shared the Simi Valley Unified School District during Monday's evacuation.
Hillside Middle and Hollow Hills Elementary remained in a shelter in place condition Monday due to smoke from the large fire added the Simi Valley Unified School District.
Animal Shelters
Two small animal shelters have been set up as part of the fire response.
A small animal shelter has been opened at the Simi Valley Animal Shelter at 670 Los Angeles Avenue in Simi Valley and another has been set up at the Camarillo Animal Shelter at 600 Aviation Drive.
A large animal shelter, for horses and livestock, has been set up at the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 Harbor Boulevard in Ventura.
Fire Assets
According to the Ventura County Fire Department, over 1,000 firefighters were part of the fire response with multiple air assets providing support to crews working on the ground that have been able to fully containment the fire on May 27, 2026.
Approximately 43,702 residents were under an active evacuation order on Tuesday, May 19 as new zones were being added east and south of the fire's origin and the exact cause remains under investigation noted the Ventura County Fire Department.
This is an evolving fire response and more information will be added to this article as it is received.
