The approval is required by state law, officials said. In county fire's jurisdiction, the proposed maps include 59,000 parcels in very high hazard areas, up from 49,000 in the current maps.

The Auto Fire has burned nearly 61 acres in Ventura, California, a coastal city about 68 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, according to the county fire department. The blaze has was first ...

Eyewitness News data journalist Jill Castellano found that more than 88,000 acres in Ventura County fall into that "very hazardous" category - a 54% increase in acreage since the prior maps from 2011.