Suspected Arson Fire Near High School Burns 25 Acres

A brush fire that investigators suspect was intentionally set erupted on a rugged hillside near Westlake High School on Sunday evening, then stalled and was contained after burning 25 acres, a Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman said.

A second fire ignited in Decker Canyon a few miles away in Malibu about 20 minutes after the 7:40 p.m. Thousand Oaks blaze, spokeswoman Vicki Sosa said.

She said the timing of the fires prompted investigators to think that they were connected. They said they thought that the first fire was arson because a witness saw a two-tone white van leaving the area just before the blaze erupted.

The lack of wind helped 80 firefighters on 11 engine crews, three hand crews and two bulldozers encircle the Westlake fire within 2 1/2 hours and keep it from moving north toward the nearby gated North Ranch Country Club, Sosa said.

“Winds are always a major factor in how quickly a fire is brought under control, and we’re lucky we didn’t have to deal with that factor,” she said.

The fire broke out at Via Merida and Lakeview Canyon Road, Sosa said.

The second fire broke out at Decker Road and Mulholland Highway. It burned about two acres and was put out in 35 minutes, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“I can see it [the Westlake fire] from my den,” said James Moodhe, who lives on Country Valley Road about half a mile east. “There’s no wind, and where the fire’s at there are no homes.

“These are multimillion-dollar homes that it’s moving on,” he said about 9:30 p.m., two hours into the fire.

Sosa said the North Ranch Country Club north of the high school was never threatened. No homes were evacuated, she said.

Daryl Kelley is a Times staff writer and David R. Baker is a correspondent.