County Braces for Holiday Weekend : Tourism: CHP puts more officers on the road. Merchants and restaurants are ready for crowds as shopping season begins.

With thousands of tourists expected to stream into Ventura County over the long holiday weekend, merchants, police and tourism directors are expecting brisk sales and a busy four days.

Thousands of residents left the area Wednesday, crowding the Ventura Freeway on their way to relatives and nearby airports, California Highway Patrol officials said.

“We have the maximum amount of officers working the road,” CHP Officer Brian De Mattia said. “Not just for enforcement purposes, but for aiding the motoring public.

“With the increase in traffic this weekend, there’s going to be increases in service calls,” he said.

Campground, hotel and restaurant officials on Wednesday all predicted a bustling four-day weekend.

“(Reservations) this weekend are very, very strong,” said David Horowitz, general manager of the Westlake Hyatt. “Being in a community like Westlake, we attract a lot of family business coming to visit other family members. Also, it’s a good, short getaway for locals.”

Rangers at the Lake Casitas Recreation Area near Ojai said they have up to 10 times the number of campers on Thanksgiving weekends than on usual November weekends.

“All of our hookups are completely filled, and all we have left are basic sites,” Ranger Tim Lawson said.

“It’s a holiday weekend and people have four days off, so they come out here and use it,” he said. “It usually depends on the weather, and we’ve had some great days out here lately.”

The National Weather Service on Wednesday forecast mostly cloudy skies for today, with moderate temperatures.

“It’s going to be kind of a gray day,” meteorologist Jay Stockton said. “But highs will be in the middle to upper 60s. It’ll be sunnier in the morning than the afternoon because the clouds will be thickening.”

But Stockton said clearer skies are forecast Friday through Sunday, with temperatures in the upper 60s in the coastal areas of Ventura County and slightly warmer inland.

The forecast is good news to local merchants, who are counting on a big opening weekend of the Christmas shopping season.

“We’re always busy on holidays,” said Carol Lavender, executive director of the Greater Oxnard and Harbors Tourism Bureau. “The coastal communities are usually pretty full during the holidays and this year is no exception.”

Lavender said she already has staffed the tourism office at the Oxnard Factory Outlet with extra volunteers. “The day after Thanksgiving, I imagine the Oxnard Factory Outlet will be extremely busy,” she said.

Rick Holland of the California Department of Transportation said the county’s main highways are expected to be well-used over the long weekend. As with any holiday, he said, Caltrans workers have put road improvement projects on hold.

“If we’re out there and we take away one or two lanes, that would increase congestion,” Holland said.

At the Wheeler Hot Springs resort north of Ojai, operators warned not to show up for a Thanksgiving dinner without a reservation.

“Thanksgiving is pretty much of a sellout for us every year,” resort spokesman Lanny Kaufer said. “It’s because of the quality of the meal. There’s nothing like an old-fashioned American Thanksgiving prepared by a French chef.”

Not everyone is expecting heavy crowds over the weekend, however.

Bill Clawson, executive director of the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau, said Thanksgiving weekend is not typically a huge money-maker for his members.

“It’s the kind of weekend people spend with their families and friends,” Clawson said.

“The hotels do most of their business off buffets and meals,” he said. “But it doesn’t have much of an impact on people staying overnight.”