Thousands were forced to flee their homes Monday as firefighters battled a fast-moving wildfire in Southern California that had charred at least 25,000 acres of land, authorities said.

According to ABC News, intensified by strong winds and harsh weather conditions the fire caused at least one death in Ventura County, emergency officials said. The person's identity was not released, but authorities attributed the death to an automobile accident that occurred as the individual attempted to evacuate.

Reports say the fire was impacting structures in downtown Ventura early Tuesday morning, with multiple residential homes on fire near City Hall.

ABC reports that about 650 residents were under mandatory evacuation in Ventura County as of early Tuesday morning as the wildfires moved southwest toward the coast. Several thousand homes in the nearby area had been evacuated due to the fire, although they cautioned that the figure was a rough estimate.

Officials say the blaze started a 50-acre brush fire in a foothills area east of Santa Paula-located about 40 minutes east of Santa Barbra- at around 6:30 p.m. Monday.

LATEST: Fast-moving Southern California wildfire causes at least 1 death, forces thousands to flee their homes, authorities in Ventura County say. https://t.co/1PeBldjupA pic.twitter.com/Nn9lfdqhCk

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