SOUTHLAND : Arsonists Set 3 Ventura Fires

Hundreds of firefighters today battled three arson-set wildfires that blackened more than 2,400 acres of rugged brush land in Ventura County.

Firefighters early this morning contained 60% of a fire in Fillmore’s Shiells Canyon that previously menaced several homes on Guiberson Street, Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman Laura Olson said.

Firefighters surrounded 60% of a fire that raced over 900 acres of the rural Mupu area of Santa Paula Canyon. No structures were threatened, a fire dispatcher said.

Near South Mountain, fire crews contained a 1,000-acre fire south of Santa Paula, Olson said.