East County : THOUSAND OAKS : Roof Fire Threatens Neighboring Homes

A roof fire in a Thousand Oaks home Sunday briefly th reatened to burn surrounding residences in a neighborhood of upscale, wood-shingle houses before it was brought under control, officials said.

About 40 firefighters were called to battle the fire in the 3000 block of Frontier Avenue because light breezes Sunday night could easily have carried embers to nearby roofs, Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Mark Taillon said.

“All it takes is one ember to wedge itself beneath a wood shingle” for another fire to erupt, Taillon said.

Two firefighters suffered minor burns and were taken to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks. Their condition was not available late Sunday.

The fire was reported at 6:39 p.m. and was under control within an hour, officials said.

The blaze caused about $72,000 in damage to the structure and $5,000 to the contents of the five-bedroom, two-story home, Taillon said. He said it started when a spark from the chimney blew onto the wood-shingle roof.

C. J. Chimenti said he was home wrapping Christmas presents when a neighbor knocked on his door to tell him that his roof was on fire. The fire caused heavy damage to the attic and roof, but the house is still habitable, officials said.

Chimenti, 46, said he planned to spend the night with friends before assessing the damage today. He declined help from the Red Cross, officials said.

Neighbors said most of the homes were built in the mid-1970s, before the use of wood shingles as a roofing material was banned.