Firefighters stationed in Camarillo may break camp today
Crews helped battle Malibu blaze
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

The Corral Fire of Malibu burned around 4,900 acres, destroyed 53 homes and caused as many as 14,000 people to be evacuated over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Although lives were disrupted and some homes lost, fire officials said more homes could have been lost and lives possibly lost without the hundreds of firefighters and support personnel camped close by in Camarillo.

Since Nov. 20, about 800 firefighters from Ventura County, inmate support crews and Cal Fire, formerly the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, have set up camp at Freedom Park ready to respond to a wildfire as they did in the Malibu fire.

Cal Fire Capt. Mike Pfeiffer said that three minutes after 10 engines had arrived in Malibu's Latigo Canyon in the early morning hours last Saturday, the road behind them was blocked by downed power lines, preventing more fire crews from entering the area.

Being able to respond faster to the fire meant lives may have been saved and fewer homes lost, he said.

"We were there faster than engines from Santa Monica," Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Guyan said.

The camp may clear out today if Santa Ana winds die down as expected.

State fire officials for the first time designated Camarillo as one of four firefighting staging grounds for Southern California when Santa Ana winds were forecast for Thanksgiving week.

Capt. Barry Parker of the Ventura County Fire Department said Freedom Park is the ideal location for a camp of this size. Situated on the outskirts of town, the camp has had minimum impact on city traffic and is large enough to accommodate the equipment and trailers needed to feed and house 800 people for nearly two weeks.

If winds pick back up, a camp can again be set up in a matter of hours, Parker said.

"California is the model for the nation in moving equipment quickly," Parker said.

Supporting firefighters on the Malibu front lines were lowrisk prison inmates, who cleared away brush and other vegetation to create a fire break.

Cal Fire officials said the inmates performed a valuable service during the blaze because they were able to go into steep and rugged terrain inaccessible to bulldozers.

During their down time, the 400 inmates stationed at Freedom Park are kept busy working on special projects, such as clearing weeds and brush from government property, from hiking trails and out of floodcontrol channels.

Inmates, who must pass several screenings and cannot be sex offenders or have a history of violence, are under constant supervision while at camp and on the fire lines.

Most are close to their release dates and unlikely to commit an offense, state officials said.