THOUSAND OAKS : Attic Fire Causes $125,000 Damage

A three-alarm attic fire caused about $125,000 in damage Monday to a Thousand Oaks house, according to county Fire Department spokesman Dan Preston. The cause of the fire was undetermined.

Joleen Janssen, owner of the house at 1623 Hauser Circle, escaped uninjured with her three dogs. “I was sitting in the house working a crossword puzzle,” she said. “My neighbor came over and said my roof was on fire.”

Neighbor Bob Huter said he heard a loud pop about 11:30 a.m. and went outside. Janssen told him that she had just turned on her air conditioner, he said. “Two hours later I heard the popping again,” he said. “Then I saw a flame.”

A fire in 1975 destroyed a house at the same address, Janssen said, and she moved into a new house there three years later. She had been trying to sell it since spring and was considering lowering the sale price. “Whoever buys it now will get almost a new home,” she said.