Latest in String of Major Holiday Fires Kills Woman

A 66-year-old woman died in a fire that engulfed her Thousand Oaks home after she apparently left a cigarette smoldering Wednesday night, the latest tragedy in a holiday season described by officials as the worst for fires in recent years.

Norma Moje died of smoke inhalation and burns in her two-story house at 79 Los Padres Drive, authorities said.

Moje probably dropped a cigarette into an overstuffed chair in the living room and then fell asleep on the couch, fire investigator Bill Hager said. The cigarette smoldered until it caught fire, Hager said.

It appears that when Moje awoke, she became disoriented from carbon monoxide inhalation, went to the kitchen and turned on the faucet to get water to put the fire out, he said. Moje’s body was discovered on the kitchen floor with her left hand near the phone, he said. Neighbors said Moje had lived by herself at the house for the last 15 years.

The fire, which left the house a blackened shell, was the most recent in a string of unusually destructive blazes in the past four days, fire officials said.

“I can’t remember a time that we’ve had this amount of large-loss fires over this period of time,” said Assistant Chief Jim Smith of the Ventura County Fire Department.

From Sunday through Wednesday, 12 structure fires in the area covered by the Ventura County Fire Department did more than $1.7 million damage. During the same holiday time period last year, three structure fires in the department’s jurisdiction did $165,000 damage, officials said.

So far this month, fires in the department’s jurisdiction have done more than $2 million damage. Last year, fires did $888,962 damage during December.

The Fire Department covers the entire county except for the cities of Fillmore, Oxnard, Ventura and Santa Paula, which have their own departments, said public information officer Sandi Wells.

Smith attributed the increase in big fires this holiday period to the recent chill, which sent county residents indoors to turn on heaters and build fires. Some of the heaters and fireplaces were not capable of handling the demands of continual operation and large blazes, he said.

People have compounded the problems by burning Christmas wrappings in their fireplaces. Those materials often spark embers that can quickly ignite fires when they land on dry roofs, he said.

In addition, he said, the fires have been more difficult to extinguish because of high winds that whipped the flames and because of drought conditions, which have left wood frames and shake roofs dry.

The parched wood was a factor in the blaze that spread through Moje’s house Wednesday night, officials said.

Moments after next-door neighbors noticed the fire about 8:30 p.m., Moje’s house was engulfed in flames. Neighbors heard windows explode from the heat and watched as flames lapped at the structure.

“It was pretty frightening,” said neighbor Barbara Acker. “We saw all the flames shooting up.”

A next-door neighbor, who said he had known Moje for six years, described her as a friendly woman who invited others to holiday celebrations at her residence. Another neighbor said Moje cared for her pet cat whenever the animal wandered into her yard.

Almost 50 firefighters battled the blaze, extinguishing it by 1:30 a.m., dispatcher Alison Schember said. Fire Capt. Dick Eads suffered a knee injury and Engineer Steve Matsuura suffered minor burns on his hand, Schember said. The men were treated at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks and released, officials said.

The fire did $250,000 damage to the structure and $75,000 damage to contents, adding to the total of holiday fire destruction.

At least five other people were injured in blazes over the holiday season, authorities said.

Two Santa Paula police officers and a firefighter were treated for smoke inhalation after fighting a fire at 9:07 a.m. Christmas Day at an apartment at 746 N. Ojai Road, said Santa Paula Police Sgt. Mark Trimble.

Police Agent Troyce Reynolds and Officer Bill Woodson found the residence engulfed in flames and black smoke, a police spokeswoman said.

They and firefighter Dave Lagesse were treated at Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and released, the spokeswoman said. The fire was started by a portable space heater, she said. No further information was available.

Embers from holiday wrapping paper ignited a three-alarm house fire in Camarillo on Tuesday.

One firefighter was injured in the 11:54 a.m. fire at 154 Hughes Drive, which caused $220,000 damage to the house and its contents, Ventura County fire investigator Dave Chovanec said. Firefighter Mike Eggleston was treated for second-degree heel burns at Pleasant Valley Hospital and released, Fire Capt. Rod Sims said.

A furnace at a Simi Valley house caught fire at 10:24 a.m. Monday and sparked a blaze that hospitalized one man. John Ramirez suffered first- and second-degree burns and seared lungs, Ventura County fire dispatcher Vicki Crabtree said. Ramirez, who is in his 30s, was released from Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks on Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The fire at 469 Innwood Road did $50,000 damage to the structure and $20,000 damage to contents, Crabtree said.

Sparks from a chimney ignited the wooden shingles of a Ventura house at 8:32 a.m. Tuesday and started a fire that did $55,000 damage, authorities said Wednesday.

Residents of the house at 748 Lemon Grove Ave. were opening presents when the fire started, Ventura Fire Department Assistant Chief Richard Achee said. No one was injured in the blaze, which took 12 firefighters almost four hours to extinguish, Achee said.

Another fire, at 230 Crestview Ave. in Camarillo at 11:50 a.m. Monday, ignited after sparks from a chimney landed on the roof. Residents of the house were in their back yard when they saw flames on the roof, Crabtree said. The fire did $200,000 damage to the structure and $20,000 damage to the contents, she said.

One unit of a four-unit Moorpark condominium was burned in a fire that broke out at 3:17 p.m. Monday, Crabtree said. The residence at 15296 Campus Park Drive sustained $20,000 damage to the structure and $15,000 worth of contents were destroyed, she said. No one was home at the time, and the cause is unknown, Crabtree said.