Firefighters Stretched to Cover the County : Fires: Although crews have been sent to battle the Santa Barbara blaze, local officials say they are maintaining adequate protection for the region.

At least 100 Ventura County firefighters have been dispatched to help battle the disastrous Santa Barbara fire, but officials said they have managed to maintain comprehensive fire protection throughout the county.

“The idea is that we get everybody we possibly can to cover the local stations,” said Sandi Wells of the Ventura County Fire Department. “We don’t leave any part of the county uncovered, ever.”

By bringing virtually every firefighter on duty, the county Fire Department has maintained crews of at least one fire engine and three firefighters per truck at each of the county’s 32 stations, Wells said.

Also, firefighters with local city departments and other agencies are on standby to help if needed, officials said.

On normal days, about 130 county firefighters, or nearly one-third of the 385-member force, are on duty at any one time, officials said. Typically, county firefighters work three 24-hour shifts every nine days.

But when emergencies occur, county firefighters join with city fire departments to activate a backup network to maintain the same number of engines and firefighters to cover local neighborhoods.

Such an emergency was called when county firefighters, already stretched thin by the brush fire in Ojai, were dispatched to Santa Barbara Wednesday afternoon. As of Thursday, 100 firefighters remained in Santa Barbara--about one-quarter of the county force.

Initially, about 200 county firefighters helped crews from the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Los Angeles County Fire Department fight the brush fire that consumed 585 acres near Ojai. As of Thursday, only seven county workers remained as part of the firefighting force in the Ojai hills.

When emergencies occur, the county Fire Department dips into the mutual aid system. Under this plan, participating fire agencies make firefighters and equipment available to neighboring communities, call in off-duty officers to work at local stations, and often require firefighters and other employees to work overtime to maintain a full level of service.

“We’re stretched in the sense that we would have to bring in other outside agencies if we were to have another major fire in the county now,” said dispatcher Lisa Hines. “But as for normal, everyday emergencies, we’re fully covered.”

Under the system, fire departments from the cities of Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Paula and a volunteer contingent from Fillmore are assisting the county Fire Department in covering the county surrounding their areas. A six-member firefighting unit at Camarillo State Hospital is also available to help out.

Maria Tejada, assistant to the executive director at Camarillo State Hospital, said the hospital’s fire engine returned Thursday from filling in at a county fire station in Thousand Oaks. The hospital’s water tank truck remained on duty at the Ojai fire.

In Ventura, the city’s Fire Department sent one fire engine and three firefighters to Santa Barbara Wednesday, said information officer Barry Simmons. Off-duty firefighters were called to relieve those firefighters, he said.

And an Oxnard fire engine, with three firefighters, was due to return from the Santa Barbara fire Thursday, said Battalion Chief Murray Glidden. Oxnard officials had also called in an off-duty crew to work overtime, filling in for the crew that was dispatched to Santa Barbara, he said.

Other county agencies also stepped in to aid Santa Barbara.

Late Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Department dispatched 38 deputies to assist authorities in Santa Barbara. By Thursday, all but nine of the deputies had returned to Ventura, a department spokesman said.

County Fire Department spokeswoman Wells said the county was still standing by and was prepared to send to Santa Barbara those firefighters who have rested after the Ojai blaze, replacing workers exhausted from battling that fire.

“This is one of those things that is changing continually,” Wells said. “We could end up sending more.”

Carolyn Kusky contributed to this story.

STORIES: A1, A41-44