Countywide : Avocado Rancher Hurt in Flareup of Controlled Burn

A Somis avocado rancher received burns on both legs Wednesday when a controlled fire flared up and blackened two acres of brush before being doused by Ventura County firefighters, authorities said.

The Somis fire broke out two hours after firefighters extinguished a 20-acre brush fire of suspicious origin near Moorpark, said Sam Meier, a Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman.

Weather conditions were not believed to have been a factor in either blaze, Meier said.

She said winds were light and temperatures were cooler than in previous days.

The Moorpark fire broke out shortly after 11 a.m. near Walnut Canyon and Casey roads and initially threatened a number of homes, Meier said.

About 100 firefighters, including two hand crews from the California Department of Forestry, battled the blaze until it was contained at 12:36 p.m., she said.

An hour later, eight county engine companies and three hand crews from the California Department of Forestry responded to a report of a fire in a 22-acre avocado grove behinda residence in the 4800 block of North Avenue in Somis, Meier said.

The fire was located in very steep terrain and a helicopter was called in to assist with the firefighting effort, she said.

Between 1 1/2 and 2 acres of brush were burned before the Somis fire was contained.

Ludwig Huber, 61, told firefighters that embers from a county-authorized debris fire he had set in the morning had flared up while he was away for lunch, starting the brush fire.

Huber received second-degree burns on both legs when he ran through the flames to reach a garden hose and spray his and a neighbor’s home.

Firefighters treated Huber at the scene, Meier said.

The fire did not damage his avocado and walnut trees, Huber said.