THOUSAND OAKS : Welders Cited in 5-Acre Brush Fire

Welders working without a permit ignited a five-acre brush fire in the tinder-dry North Ranch section of Thousand Oaks, officials said.

Paul Shafer and Mark Brakensiek, both of Thousand Oaks, were cited Monday for recklessly causing a fire, said Bill Hager, Ventura County fire investigator.

Their employer, Brooks Welding, 31123 Via Colinas in Westlake Village, could be charged $10,000 for the cost of putting out the blaze, Hager said.

The company also could be fined $5,000 on misdemeanor charges, investigators said.

The welders were working on a wrought iron fence behind a new house at 900 Country Valley Road when the blaze was ignited.

Working near brush requires that a fire extinguisher be on hand and that the area be cleared of combustible growth, Hager said, noting the men did not do either.

But Sandy White, a spokeswoman for Brooks Welding, said the men did carry a fire extinguisher, and used it and a hose in an attempt to put out the fire before calling the Fire Department. The company was unaware that it needed a permit, she said.

Officials dispatched 68 firefighters to the blaze as well as 12 engines from Ventura County and one from Los Angeles County. Two bulldozers, two helicopters and three hand crews from Ventura County assisted, a spokesman for the Fire Department said.

A four-year drought has created a high fire danger in the area.

“It’s very dangerous,” Hager said. “The brush and grass is brown so there’s very little, if any, moisture at all.”