UPDATED: Conditions from the Mountain Fire have shaken up the high school sports playoff schedule.

Conditions associated with the mountain fire have impacted the high school cross country league finals as well as soccer and tennis playoffs scheduled for this week.

Many local school administrators have had to scramble to find safe places for their athletes to practice and play.

Rio Mesa and Ventura have agreed to move Friday’s CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoff game from El Rio to The Royal School in Simi Valley.

Rio Mesa athletic director Chris Ruffinelli warned of inconvenience.

“We lost a day of practice,” Ruffinelli said. “People have lost their homes. This is a football match. … Central Avenue was a wall of fire yesterday.”

The CIF-Southern Section Division 7 football game between Camarillo and Oak Park, previously scheduled for Friday in Camarillo, has changed venue to Oak Park High.

“We were given the opportunity to play in the CIF playoffs and we are very grateful for the chance to show what Camarillo is all about this year,” Camarillo Athletic Director Mary Bittner Perez. “We are grateful to Oak Park for making this happen. … Let’s Play.”

Friday’s first-round game of St. Bonaventure High School Division 4 football against Orange Vista has been moved from Buena School to Santa Barbara City College.

Fillmore was another potential site, but the fire’s movement northeast toward Santa Paula on Thursday decided in favor of St. Bonaventure athletic director Raul Camacho.

“The fire had moved toward Fillmore,” Camacho said, “so it made sense to move it north to be safe.”

More: Mountain Fire Burns Nearly 20,000 Acres, Destroys Homes as Flames Rake Through Somis, Camarillo

Santa Paula’s 11th Division playoff game at Encino Crespi Stadium has been moved to noon Saturday after the fire moved back toward Santa Paula.

Unable to practice Wednesday, the Cardinals planned to practice Thursday night at Hueneme High.

“We were afraid we wouldn’t have practice,” Santa Paula coach Mike Montoya said. “Moving the game back gave us two days to play at least one and it looks like we can do it.”

With Oxnard Union County schools closing at noon Wednesday, Camarillo, Pacifica and Rio Mesa were unable to practice Wednesday, two days before playoff games.

All three were scheduled to practice at Camarillo High on Thursday.

Administrators and coaches from Ventura and Rio Mesa met Thursday afternoon to make plans for Friday’s Division 5 playoff game originally scheduled for Reardon Field in Rio Mesa.

Pacifica’s home playoff game against Laguna Beach on Friday is also expected to be moved east. But as of Thursday, it was still in effect on Gonzalez Road in Oxnard.

“At this point, yes,” Pacifica athletic director Ray Camacho said Thursday afternoon.

Nordhoff’s Division 14 home playoff game against Hamilton at Ojai Valley Community Stadium also continued Friday night.

“We’re monitoring the air quality,” Nordhoff head coach Dillon Loewen said. “Today you can see the smoke coming into the valley and smell it, but it’s not that bad.”

The air quality index in Ojai on Thursday afternoon was 51, which is moderate.

Sporting events cannot take place if the AQI is below 151 under CIF-SS rules.

Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo had unhealthy air Thursday, according to www.airnow.govwebsite used by CIF-SS.

The Citrus Coast League voted to cancel the cross country finals originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Lake Casitas “due to issues arising from the mountain fire,” Hueneme High athletic director Pablo Gallegos confirmed Thursday.

The final league standings and CIF-SS bids will be determined based on the results of previous league meetings, Gallegos said.

The Channel League cross country finals, originally scheduled for Wednesday at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, were moved to 11 a.m. Friday.

The Tri-County Athletic Association postponed the cross country finals until Friday, moving the event to Goleta along with the Canal League finals.

The Coastal Canyon Cross Country League finals, originally scheduled for Thursday in Camarillo, have been moved to Arroyo Vista Park in Moorpark for Friday at 1 p.m.

St. Bonaventure Girls’ Tennis School’s playoff match with Orange Vista has been rescheduled at Sunset Hills County Club for Friday at 2 p.m.

Women’s tennis postseason matches in Simi Valley and Oak Park were previously postponed from Wednesday to Thursday due to wind conditions in Santa Ana.

(This story has been updated to accurately reflect the latest information.)

Joe Curley covers high school, college and pro football for The Star. He can be reached at [email protected]. For more information, follow @vcspreps on Twitter/X, Instagram/Threads, Facebook and TikTok.

This article originally appeared on the Ventura County Star: Mountain fire conditions alter high school sports schedules