Steady Winds Fan Several Small Fires

Winds gusting up to 40 m.p.h. prevented boats from leaving the harbor and fanned a series of small brush and structure blazes that kept firefighters hopping around Ventura County on Saturday.

Officials at the Channel Islands Harbor in Ventura issued a small-craft advisory for most of the day, said Channel Islands Harbor Patrol Officer Wayne Gustafson.

“Small crafts were warned not to go out because of steady winds,” Gustafson said. “We did have a small Hobie cat that capsized.”

No injuries were reported.

Santa Ana winds were expected to die down by today, said Steve Burback, a meteorologist for Weather Data Inc., which provides forecasting for The Times.

In Santa Paula, city fire crews extinguished two small brush fires that each scorched less than an acre. Ventura County firefighters battled a one-acre brush fire in Thousand Oaks.

One blaze erupted about 9:30 a.m. next to railroad tracks near Dean Drive and Main Street. Soon after, crews were summoned to extinguish a second brush fire near Santa Paula Airport south of the Santa Paula Freeway.

In Thousand Oaks, a 17-year-old youth who lost control of his car and drove it into a field ignited dry brush in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area just east of Wendy Drive, sheriff’s officials said. The car was destroyed by fire, but the youth escaped unhurt.

Ventura County Fire Capt. George Hatt said he became concerned about high winds after the youth’s car ignited dry brush on federal parkland.

“Luckily, we caught the fire before it went up into the hills. We were very, very lucky, because the winds were pushing it,” Hatt said. “If it had gotten into the heavy brush, the fire would have gone to the ocean.”

A fire also damaged packaging inside the packinghouse of Calavo Growers of California on Main Street in Santa Paula. Fire officials were not available for comment on the cause of the fire.