Wildfire in LA, Ventura counties grows to over 5,000 acres in one day

A wildfire broke out in Southern California on Thursday afternoon, growing to over 5,000 acres by Friday and forcing evacuations in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. 

A Friday morning update from the Los Angeles County and Ventura County fire departments stated that as of 9 am local time, 4,856 acres have burned in the Canyon Fire and the fire was 25 percent contained. As of Friday afternoon, that number has grown to 5,370 acres. 400 personnel are at the scene battling the blaze, and the cause is still under investigation. 

"The Canyon Fire began in Ventura County off Holster Canyon Rd with westerly winds pushing the fire towards Los Angeles County. The VCFD dispatched resources just before 1:30 pm on August 7, 2025. A few moments later the LACoFD dispatched their initial response to mitigate potential threats across the county line. Due to the fast-moving nature of the fire Ventura upgraded their response to a 2nd Alarm at 1:33 pm," the incident update read.

"Air attack and ground crews aggressively attacked the fire to limit its spread and protect residents and structures in the fire’s path. The VF and the LACoFD entered unified command at 2:50 pm in order to better coordinate their resources throughout the fire." Per Newsweek, over 2,700 residents and 700 structures are under evacuation warnings in response to the fire. 

This comes after other portions of Los Angeles County were hit by the fatal Palisades and Eaton fires, which burned a combined 37,469 acres and resulted in the deaths of 30 people. The largest fire currently burning in California is the Gifford Fire, which started in the afternoon of August 1. As of Friday, the fire is 15 percent contained and has burned 99,232 acres.