SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- Mandatory evacuation orders were lifted Thursday for a vegetation fire that sent thousands fleeing and burned nearly up to the walls of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

The fast-moving blaze grew to 1,723 acres one day after strong Santa Ana winds drove more than a dozen wildfires across California.

Fire crews worked through the night to ensure the fire didn't re-erupt after exploding after 6 a.m. Wednesday near the 200 block of West Los Angeles Avenue. The blaze, dubbed the Easy Fire, was 10% contained as of 11 a.m. Thursday.

Homes in nearby residential neighborhoods were immediately threatened by the flames, even after winds initially seemed to be blowing the fire in a direction away from houses.

Hours later, the Ventura County Fire Department said 6,500 homes were in danger. One structure was destroyed. More than 1,000 firefighters were working to battle the flames.

About 30,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders as of Wednesday evening.

Firefighters raced to protect the Reagan Library as a thin wall of flames approached from a nearby hillside. The facility, which used an unusual precautionary measure, was closed Wednesday.

"We actually worked with the Ventura County Fire Department in May and they bring out hundreds of goats to our property," said Melissa Giller, a spokeswoman for the library. "The goats eat all of the brush around the entire property creating a fire perimeter."

MORE: Santa Ana winds push Easy Fire flames toward Reagan Library in Simi Valley

Helicopters were seen performing water drops on the blaze while multiple fixed-wing aircraft dropped payloads of pink Phos-Chek.

Ventura County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen said one of the biggest challenges was stopping the fire from jumping from the east side of Highway 23 to the other side. The strong winds did push the flames to the other side of the freeway, but firefighters were able to stop them from advancing further.

"Firefighters aggressively stood there and battled the flames," Lorenzen said.

Even though firefighters made progress, Lorenzen cautioned the public to remain vigilant and be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice.

"We still are not through this," he said at a 6 p.m Wednesday update. "We have another 24 hours of significant weather conditions and a lot of threat. Please stay aware, stay tuned and always be ready with a plan."

Evacuation information and updates for Ventura County are available here.

Evacuation shelters were established at the Thousand Oaks Community Center at 2525 N. Moorpark Road and Rancho Santa Susana Community Center, 5005 E. Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley.

Large animals could be evacuated to the Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura and the Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara. Small animals can be brought to the Camarillo Adoption Center, 600 Aviation Dr., Camarillo.

No injuries were reported in the blaze.

Santa Ana winds were expected to taper off by Thursday night, with a red flag warning expiring at 6 p.m.