Strong winds around the Southern California area blew smoke and ash through the southland sky, prompting the closure Tuessday of several schools and colleges in the Ventura and Los Angeles County areas.

By Wednesday, air quality had improved enough to reopen Moorpark College, Simi Valley Unified School District and other area schools, but schools in Fillmore and Piru remained closed.

The fires prompted local, state, and federal states of emergency, giving way to have local, state, and federal aid in fighting the fires. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger toured parts of the fire on Tuesday, and President George W. Bush is scheduled to visit the disaster areas on Thursday.

“The coordination that has gone on from the local level to the state level and federal level, everyone wherever I went said that they’ve never seen that kind of quick action response from all the agencies, ” said Schwarzenegger. “The follow through is the most important thing, and we’re gonna follow through.”

Moorpark College and College of the Canyons, as well as several other Ventura County schools closed their doors Monday and Tuesday because of the poor air quality caused by smoke and ash from several fires. Both schools are scheduled to reopen on Wed.

According to the National Weather Service, a red flag warning has been issued for all of Ventura County, set to expire Wednesday at 4 p.m. A red flag warning requires dry fuels for fire, and either a low relative humidity with sustained winds above 25 mph, also known as “Santa Ana” conditions, or a low humidity of ten percent or less for an extended amount of time. The NWS defines red flag criteria on a local basis.

As of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Ranch fire in Ventura County which originated at Lake Piru, was only ten percent contained, still burning north of Piru and Fillmore, according to the Ventura County Fire Dept. A spokesperson for the dept. estimates that full containment won’t be achieved until Oct. 31.

The Magic fire, which started near Six Flags Magic Mountain, headed towards Simi Valley, but the fire was held at the Ventura County line. According to the fire dept., the Magic fire is 93 percent contained and full containment is expected by Wednesday morning.

The other fire causing most of the air irritation for Ventura County was the Buckweed fire. According to the Los Angeles County Fire Dept., the Buckweed incident is 80 percent contained.

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