Stubborn Wildfire Prompts Precautionary Evacuations

A stubborn wildfire in northern Ventura County burned through thick chaparral and trees Sunday, prompting the precautionary evacuation of about 300 homes as flames pushed toward Ojai Valley.

The Day fire had doubled in size as a result of strong Santa Ana winds late Saturday, but stalled Sunday as the gusts died down, fire officials said. The two-week old fire has scorched more than 60,000 acres and was 15% contained, fire officials said. It was the largest of several brush fires that burned throughout Southern California over the weekend.

Early Sunday, thick layers of ash covered cars, streets and homes in Ojai and mountain neighborhoods. “It looked like it was snowing,” said Onah Helgesson, 39, who lives in the foothill community of Upper Ojai with her husband and two daughters. “There are ashes everywhere, the sky is dark brown and the sun is bright red.”

As a precaution, the Ventura County Fire Department advised the evacuations of residences in the Upper Ojai, Matilija Canyon and Wheeler Gorge areas. Residents in nearby Fillmore and Santa Paula also were on alert for potential evacuations, fire officials said.

Search-and-rescue teams early Sunday airlifted nine Boy Scouts and their leaders from a campsite at Piedra Blanca in the Upper Lyons Camp area, while boarding schools in Upper Ojai evacuated their students.

Ojai Unified School District officials said they were planning to hold classes today, but would keep students indoors all day and suspend physical education and athletic activities until there was no visible smoke or ash in the air.

The aggressive turn that the fire took Saturday left many residents nervous. Some spent Sunday packing up trucks and trailers with valuables in case they needed to leave. Most of the horses in rural neighborhoods had been removed to temporary shelters, residents said.

“We packed clothes, pictures and important documents,” said Margit Gorman, standing outside her Upper Ojai home with her husband and two young children. “It’s good because now everybody is prepared.”

In another mountain community near Matilija Canyon, residents packed cars, cleared paths around their homes for firefighters and exchanged what little information they had about the fire’s path.

Dennis Fingold, who has lived in the same home for 25 years, said a much larger wildfire in 1985 rushed straight down the canyon and through the hamlet of 20 homes. None of the structures were lost, thanks to quick work by firefighters, Fingold said.

Fingold said he has a simple formula for deciding when to leave: “You stay until the Fire Department tells you to get out.”

Firefighters caught a break Sunday when forecasted Santa Ana winds up to 30 mph failed to materialize, Ventura County Fire Capt. Barry Parker said. Gentle winds of 8 to 10 mph throughout the day allowed firefighting crews to get into the rugged canyons where flames were advancing and dig a perimeter, he said.

Air tankers and helicopters dropped water and foam on the blaze to try to stop the fire from moving west, toward populated areas.

More than 1,800 firefighters were battling the blaze, Parker said. Crews were unable to get on the ground until Sunday afternoon because of gusting winds and rugged terrain, he added.

National Weather Service forecasters predicted mild Santa Ana conditions would continue through tonight.

The flames have been chewing up vegetation in Los Padres National Forest since Labor Day. The fire erupted Sept. 4 near Pyramid Lake and threatened to cross into Los Angeles County for several days.

Cooler weather Thursday and Friday gave fire commanders hope that the flames would soon be brought under control. But when temperatures spiked back up into the low 90s on Saturday, with afternoon winds gusting up to 20 mph, the fire reignited on the western flank, pushing into canyons filled with thick vegetation, fire officials said.

Also on Sunday, two brush fires burned in Riverside County. Fire officials temporarily evacuated about 2,500 residents when a fire in Banning burned more than 1,400 acres and threatened homes. The fire was expected to be fully contained by today, fire officials said. Fire crews also gained control over a blaze that burned more than 1,500 acres near Calimesa.

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catherine.saillant@latimes.com

Times staff writer Matt Lait contributed to this report.