THOUSAND OAKS : Firefighters Fear Active Fire Season

After fighting five brush fires in four days, including a two-acre blaze in Westlake Village on Tuesday, fire officials said there is mounting concern that this summer will be an abnormally active fire season.

Tuesday’s blaze, sparked by welders working near dry brush, came within 100 feet of several homes and took 57 firefighters two hours to extinguish.

“The weed abatement saved these houses,” Ventura County Battalion Chief Al Wilsey said. “Everything that wasn’t cut burned clean to the ground.”

County fire officials said Tuesday that a lack of rainfall this winter, combined with hot temperatures, has left the brush dry and brittle.

“The fuel that’s out there right now is just waiting to burn,” said Sandi Wells, a Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman. “If it continues to be hot and dry, people are going to have to be very careful.”

In addition to the fire sparked by welders, a recent fire near Santa Paula was set by sparks from a car engine. Two of the recent fires--one next to the Conejo Grade and one in Agoura Hills--were believed to be set by arsonists.

“Most fires are caused by people who are careless, whether it’s sparks from illegal fireworks or model rockets or a back-yard barbecue,” Wells said. “But some are arson, and we have investigators who are keeping track of those fires.”

So far, investigators have said there is no link between any of the recent blazes in the Thousand Oaks area, and they do not suspect that two fires blamed on arson were set by the same person, Wells said.

“We will continue to look into these cases. But in the meantime, we are urging people to be careful in the outdoors,” she said. “This could be a long summer.”