LOS ANGELES — A wildfire that forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate Simi Valley jumped to 15% containment overnight, according to officials.

The blaze began around 11 a.m. Pacific time Monday off Sandy Avenue and moved to nearby homes, destroying one, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It had burned across 1,698 acres as of Wednesday morning.

Overnight, fire activity continued around the eastern edge of the fire and began spotting near Sequoia Avenue, according to Andrew Dowd, a spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department.

Crews continued to battle the fire Wednesday, as weather patterns were expected to stay the same, Dowd said. Eastern winds were expected to shift west in the afternoon. Around 43,000 residents remain under evacuation orders.

“We’re here with Cal Fire, L.A. City and L.A. County Fire,” Dowd said. “We have water in helicopters, dozers and engines and we are giving this fire an aggressive fire tap with everything we got.”

Along the southern edge of the fire near Albertson Motorway, crews plan on cutting down hot spots and trying to secure the edge of the blaze, according to Trevor Johnson, a spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department. There could be unburned pockets of fuel that make smoke in the region “super visible,” he said.

“We have resources on scene and we’re handling everything we can,” he added.

Along the east side of the fire near Sequoia Avenue, the blaze is expected to be particularly active, as firefighters try to stop the progress of the fire east toward the canyon, Johnson said.

Authorities say the fire may have been caused by a person who hit a rock with a tractor. The Simi Valley Police Department’s communications center received a call at 10:17 a.m. Monday from the tractor driver who said they’d hit a rock on their property in the 2600 block of Rudolph Drive, sending up a spark and starting a brush fire, said Sgt. Rick Morton, public information officer with the Simi Valley Police Department.

The street is adjacent to Sandy Avenue, where the origin of the fire was recorded, he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, water-dropping helicopters spent the day dousing flames burning up slope on dry foothills while hand crews dug in defensive lines and cut vegetation between the fire’s perimeter and nearby homes.

Offshore winds were expected to gust through the area through the weekend, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Lewis. Humidity is expected to climb to as high as 70%, which may also help firefighters.

The following road closures were in effect Wednesday: Bell Canyon Road in both directions from Overland Drive, Katherine Road at the railroad tracks, Clear Springs Road from Santa Susana Pass Road to Katherine Road, Oak Knolls Road at Southern Oaks Avenue, Crinklaw Lane, Santa Susana Pass Road at railroad tracks and Santa Susana Pass Road at Box Canyon Road.

An evacuation warning in Ventura County was in effect near Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Chatsworth, West Hills and Lake Manor.

Containment grew on other fires in Southern California by Wednesday morning as well.

The Verona fire in Riverside County has burned 500 acres and was 5% contained.

The Bain fire in Riverside County has burned 1,456 acres and was 25% contained.

And the Santa Rosa Island fire on Santa Rosa Island was 17,000 acres and 26% contained after starting on Friday.

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(Los Angeles Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.)

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