Ventura County fire 80% contained after burning 2 homes

A fire in Ventura County that burned two homes and threatened many more is 80% contained, fire officials said Monday.

The Fillmore fire, sparked by a downed power line, started Monday afternoon and burned a mobile home in the 1400 block of Goodenough Road and then spread to nearby brush and began burning uphill.

“We got a lot of work done last night” after the winds died down, Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Mike Lindbery told The Times. “Today is our day to get strong work done. ... We have limited time before these predicted Santa Ana winds.”

The blaze scorched through about 170 acres and burned two structures.

It burned on a day when winds of up to 50 mph battered Southern California and left thousands of people from Lancaster to Pomona without power.

Ten fire crews, or about 30 people, were sent home Tuesday morning, leaving about 370 firefighters from several jurisdictions to battle the Fillmore fire.

Crews were focusing their work on the north end of the fire and extinguishing embers and hot spots.

About 200 people were evacuated from their homes Monday as flames burned palm trees and thick mountainside vegetation. The evacuation orders were lifted overnight.

County firefighters threw all they had at the blaze as gusts pushed the flames closer to homes. Helicopters made repeated water drops, but air operations were halted after darkness descended.

No injuries were reported, Lindbery said.

On Monday night, about 1,800 people lost power in cities served by Southern California Edison, the utility said.
In Los Angeles, about 13,000 people lost power in Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire and the San Fernando Valley, the Department of Water and Power said.

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joseph.serna@latimes.com