Crews knock down two Santa Rosa Valley fires
Homes spared in blazes
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers HARD, HOT WORK- Ventura County firefighters and trained Ventura County inmates check for active flames and embers on a charred hillside as the last few patches of the Nightsky fire smoke and sputter in the background. The Nightsky fire broke out at the northeast end of Santa Rosa Road on Sunday morning, claiming 35 acres and spurring evacuation of the gated Lexington Hills community before the fire department declared the blaze fully contained Monday morning.

Two fires fanned by 80 mph winds caused worry on Sunday for residents in the Santa Rosa Valley between Moorpark and Thousand Oaks.

The blazes were contained by Monday morning but homeowners in the sprawling rural valley remained wary as embers continued to flare up under woodchips and debris until Wednesday, when the winds died down.

The first fire started south of Moorpark at about 7:20 a.m. Sunday. Fire crews extinguished the 2-acre blaze within an hour and a half.

The second fire, dubbed the Nightsky fire, sparked at 10:36 a.m. in the Lexington Hills development. It burned 35 acres and caused roof damage to one home on Presilla Road before it was put out Monday morning.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers GET OUT NOW- A Santa Rosa Valley resident obeys a mandatory evacuation order and leaves his home on Sunday afternoon.

Residents were especially concerned during the fires because large plumes of smoke made it difficult to determine where the blaze was in relation to homes, said Don Shubert, a member of the Santa Rosa Valley Municipal Advisory Council and area resident for more than 30 years.

Tom Kruschke, spokesperson for the Ventura County Fire Department, said a multiagency partnership among local fire crews helped knock down the two blazes quickly. "It has made our job a lot easier and a lot safer," he said.

Ground crews worked to protect homes, while a pair of helicopters dropped water to douse flames climbing the area's hilly terrain, said Jim Fortney, a resident who assisted with traffic and crowd control when the fires were burning.

"The aircrafts made very lowlevel drops that were amazingly accurate despite the high winds," he said.

County Supervisor Peter Foy was on the scene Sunday, he said, to better understand the needs of area fire crews.

"I think it's important that we get an opportunity to see our people in action, to see how they're doing and if there's anything we can do," Foy said.

Stringent brush clearance ordinances in the county helped firefighters battle the blaze, Foy said.

Many Santa Rosa Valley residents have been through wildfires before so they were well prepared, said Supervisor Linda Parks, who represents the Santa Rosa Valley on the Board of Supervisors.

In addition to adequate brush clearance, residents were ready to evacuate their homes and prepared to take their large animals, she said.

Decorative woodchips used around homes caused problems for firefighters, Parks said. Embers can nestle in the wood chips and smolder for days, eventually sparking fires and endangering homes.

Even as officials declared both fires contained, crews from both the Ventura County Fire Department and California Division of Forestry stayed in Santa Rosa Valley until the winds abated in case of any post-fire flare-ups.

Fire crews also put out a fire near Hitch Boulevard and Ventavo Drive in Moorpark at about 12:30 Monday.

Five fire engines, a water tank truck and a hand crew quickly knocked out the blaze that had been smoldering in ground debris, Kruschke said.

"In dry and windy conditions, fire can crawl underground, below the debris and reemerge somewhere else," he said.

Kruschke could not give definite statistics on resources used to fight the Santa Rosa fires because firefighters and equipment moved in and out of the area as other fires sparked throughout the region.

The Ranch fire burning toward Fillmore and through Piru was still causing problems for area firefighters Tuesday as winds continued to fan the flames westward.

The fire was only 10 percent contained at 6 a.m. Tuesday. It had burned 54,518 acres. More than 760 firefighters were battling the blaze which had destroyed seven structures; three homes and four outbuildings.

The Ranch fire was under USDA Forest Service jurisdiction, but local fire agencies assisted with the firefighting efforts.

The Canyon fire in Malibu consumed 3,800 acres. It charred six homes, five businesses and was only 15 percent contained by midday Tuesday. About 1,000 firefighters and 247 engines were onsite to prevent further spreading.

Smoky conditions prompted Moorpark College to cancel classes Monday and Tuesday. The 120 animals that live at the college's teaching zoo were also evacuated Monday night as a precautionary measure.

Classes in the Moorpark Unified School District were canceled Tuesday due to poor air quality.

The sustained high Santa Ana winds uprooted one of the historic pepper trees bordering High Street in downtown Moorpark. The tree landed on a pickup truck parked near the Secret Garden restaurant on Sunday evening.

Fallen tree limbs were also reported throughout the city.