FOSTER PARK : Hawk Crashes Into Power Line, Igniting 17-Acre Brush Fire

A brush fire that was ignited when a hawk flew into a power line consumed about 17 acres of a hillside in the Foster Park area Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The fire began about 4:30 p.m. on Larkspur Drive and Bounds Road in the Valley Vista housing tract, said Laura Olson, public information officer for the Ventura County Fire Department.

The neighborhood is off the Canada Larga exit of Highway 33.

Olson said the fire did not threaten any houses.

About 130 firefighters from the county and the state forestry department responded to the fire with 15 engines, two helicopters and two bulldozers, Olson said.

Firefighters contained the fire by 7:52 p.m., dispatcher Cece Grives said.

Ventura County fire dispatcher Rhonda Roller said there haven’t been as many brush fires in the county this year as in previous years.

An arson fire burned 450 acres in the hills above the city of Ventura Sept. 30, and separate blazes in Piru and Simi Valley burned a total of less than 10 acres on Sept. 11.

Although the brush fire season isn’t over yet, Roller said the relatively low number of blazes may be attributed to the county’s weed-abatement program.