2 Fires Burn 55 Acres in Ventura County

Two wildfires, one between Ventura and Casitas Springs and the other in Thousand Oaks, scorched a combined 55 acres Thursday, authorities said.

The largest, caused by a farmer using a disc on a field about 3:45 p.m., burned 50 acres of light grass and brush on the north side of Canada Larga Road near California 33, a spokesman with the Ventura County Fire Department said.

The two-alarm fire was tackled by 128 county and California Department of Forestry personnel aided by an air tanker, two helicopters, 10 fire engines and two bulldozers.

“We were lucky on this one,” Fire Department spokesman Joe Luna said. “It was out of control until we got the tanker on it.”

No structures were threatened by the blaze, which was 80% contained by 7 p.m.

The smaller fire torched five acres in an arroyo west of Camino Dos Rios and Calle Brusca in the Lynn Ranch subdivision, but was extinguished about three hours after it began before any of the surrounding homes were damaged.

Two hand crews, three firetrucks, a helicopter and a bulldozer fought the blaze. One firefighter was taken to Ventura County Medical Center complaining of leg cramps.

Two 14-year-old boys shooting a potato gun in the dry grass are believed to have been responsible for the fire, said Sgt. Mark Ritchie of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

The kids tried unsuccessfully to put the fire out before running to a nearby construction trailer and alerting workers, who dialed 911.

The unidentified teenagers were arrested on suspicion of unlawfully causing a fire and released into the custody of their parents, Ritchie said.