SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A brush fire dubbed the Sandy Fire broke out in Simi Valley on Monday.
AIR7 spotted at least one property damaged by flames.
The blaze spread quickly in the 600 block of Sandy Avenue, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
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The Sandy Fire in Simi Valley triggered evacuation orders and warnings for several zones in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Details on Evacuation orders and warnings here.
The following zones are under an evacuation order:
The following zones are under an evacuation warning:
Los Angeles County:
Meanwhile, a temporary evacuation point is open at the Rancho Santa Susana Community Park, located at 5005 Los Angeles Avenue. A large animal shelter is open at Ventura County Fairgrounds, located at 10 E Harbor Blvd.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library closed its doors Monday due to the Sandy Fire burning in Simi Valley, which has reportedly burned at least 720 acres as of 1:53 p.m.
The library made the announcement on their website.
Although the Reagan Library was not in the path of the fire, the decision to close was due to road closures in the area, according to the library's Chief of Staff.
The Sandy Fire has now grown to 500 acres, Ventura County Fire reported.
"We are still anticipating a change in the weather to our advantage," said Andy Van Sciver from Ventura County Fire.
As of 1 p.m., there were still hot spots visible from AIR7.
"We're going to be here for some time," Van Sciver said.
As firefighters work to extinguish the Sandy Fire, police are investigating an incident that may have sparked the blaze.
Simi Valley police told Eyewitness News that someone called the department just before 10:30 a.m., saying they were clearing brush with a tractor when they struck a rock, which then ignited a fire.
The police department could not confirm if that incident is what started the fire, but police said it's a possibility.
The winds were strong in Simi Valley Monday, but they did not reach extreme levels, allowing crews to launch an aerial attack on the Sandy Fire.
Three air tankers and five helicopters battled the blaze from the air, according to Ventura County Fire Department Public Information Officer Andy VanSciver.
The air tankers, which are fixed-wing aircraft, dropped fire retardant on the flames, while the helicopters dropped between 1,000 - 3,000 gallons of water on the hot spots deep inside the canyons, VanSciver said.
VanSciver highlighted the crucial element of having multiple resources in the air at the start of the firefight.
"That was one of the challenges with the Palisades and Eaton fires. The wind was too strong for the air tankers and some of the helicopters," he said.
Referencing the Sandy Fire, VanSciver said: "We're in a good spot right now. We have multiple resources in the air, and they're making good work. And like I said, we're really following up with our ground team with the firefighters, hand crews and bull dozers building containment lines around the fire."
