Simi Fire News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Garrett haake and shannon, good luck to you. we want to go back to california where a fire is getting dangerously close to the reagan library. it's called the simi fire, and due to high winds consumed hundreds of acres. residential areas around the reagan library have already been evacuated. joining me now from simi valley, california, nbc news correspondent steve patterson. my goodness, what's going on there, steve? >> reporter: chris, firefighters are doing everything that they can to battle the flames here. hot spots are popping up all over this ridgeside. you can see the homes that they'...

In 2003. santa ana wind day. 40 mile an hour winds. the fire established itself on the ridge and jumped the road and ran in line with the reagan library. i'll never forget. i was sitting there. had been up for about 36 hours. a call from the deputy chief. he said to me, teddy, do not let the reagan library burn down. i said, yes, sir. by the way, the fuselage from the plane is there. don't let that burn either. i said copy that, boss. >> reporter: you did a good job. >> when the reagan library was built in the '90ers it was landscaped so something would always be in bloom. over the past 20 yea...

Neighborhoods. >> you can see the flames just about 20 feet away from that one fence. >> reporter: a small brush fire in simi valley spread quickly, hundreds of homes in its path. >> so we're on the northern end of the rustic fire that burned up here just about a month ago. how many acres burned here? >> 190 acres. >> how far are we from the reagan library? >> as the crow flies, two miles. >> could we see a fire like this up by the reagan library? >> absolutely. as a young chief officer, we had a fire called the simi fire in 2003. we had 40-mile-an-hour santa ana winds. and the fire establishe...