Dozens of Ventura County schools to close due to massive Mountain Fire

Dozens of Ventura County schools will close due to the destructive Mountain Fire that tore through thousands of acres and continues to grow Wednesday.
The wildfire burned more than 10,000 acres within five hours of sparking just before 9 a.m., erupting about five miles west of Moorpark in the Somis area, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. It injured people and burned homes to the ground while firefighters focused their attention on rescue efforts, authorities said.
“Firefighters were, right off the bat, engaged in pulling people out of their houses and saving lives,” Ventura County Fire Captain Trevor Johnson said Wednesday afternoon as the blaze remained at 0% containment. 
School officials in multiple cities have announced closures and other precautions being taken as many in the county face mandatory evacuations, including keeping students indoors at schools that remain open but are seeing widespread smoke and ash in the air.
“Our hearts break for our Camarillo families that have lost their homes,” the Pleasant Valley School District said while announcing closures. “We know that our students have been impacted by the events of the day. When we return to school, all schools will have plans to support the mental health needs of our students.”
Parents and guardians will be notified of any evacuations of campuses or other changes in the ongoing situation, school officials said. Some campuses will shut down due to power shutoffs, which utility companies have issued to avoid further wildfire risks.
Classes at Moorpark College were canceled Wednesday due to outages and officials said there would be an update on possible closures for the rest of the week released by 7 p.m. Wednesday. 
The Moorpark Unified School District announced Wednesday afternoon it is working to keep as many schools open as possible — with plans to have all campuses within that district open on Friday, Nov. 8. 
The following list of Moorpark district schools will remain open Thursday, Nov. 7 although officials said that could change if SoCal Edison decides to shut off power to the campuses. Families will be notified by 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 if that happens.
The latest updates on Ventura County school closures can also be found here while ongoing updates to evacuation orders and other emergency information and resources can be found here.