Fireworks Injure 2, Set Off Blaze; Man Presumed Drowned in Lake Piru

Sheriff’s Department divers continued to search Saturday for the body of a Long Beach man presumed drowned in Lake Piru, and two Oxnard residents were recovering from fireworks injuries on the second day of the holiday weekend.

Officials said Liborio Dominguez disappeared about 1 p.m. Friday after he dove into Lake Piru to rescue his daughter, who fell out of a rented boat.

Others pulled the girl out of the lake, but Dominguez did not make it out. A report in Saturday’s Times that a body had been recovered Friday was incorrect.

The apparent drowning was one of two Friday. A 26-year-old Glendale man died in the Pacific Ocean off Surfer’s Knoll in Ventura.

Although the county’s large Fourth of July shows went off smoothly Friday night, smaller-scale fireworks caused some problems.

They were blamed in an apartment blaze about 10 p.m. Friday that caused about $30,000 worth of damage at a Ventura apartment complex.

The blaze, which began in a carport at 6359 Whippoorwill St., caused smoke and heat damage to three of seven units at the complex. The Red Cross housed 30 residents overnight in area motels, officials said.

Also late Friday, a 6-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman were taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center after being injured in separate fireworks accidents, Oxnard police said.

A group of children was playing in a trailer park in the 5500 block of Cypress Road about 11 p.m. when one of the children dropped an M-80 explosive into an underground piece of metal tubing, Oxnard Police Sgt. Scott Whitney said.

While the other children ran away, a 6-year-old stayed to watch. The metal tubing exploded, cutting the boy’s face and injuring his eyes. Whitney said the boy, whose name was not released, could lose his sight in one eye.

About the same time, Marcela Gonzales was injured after a bottle rocket exploded in front of her face in the 1900 block of Brookside Drive. Gonzales was treated and released.

In Ventura, a 3-year-old Oak View boy was recovering in Ventura County Medical Center after being struck by a motor home Friday. Hospital officials upgraded Austin James Walgraeve’s condition Saturday from critical to serious.

The driver of the motor home, 71-year-old Lloyd Lamonte Fechser of Carpinteria, had swerved to miss the boy, who had darted out onto Old Rincon Highway, but the vehicle struck Austin at about 40 mph, authorities said.

The surf was mild Saturday, ranging up to a foot, and will remain that way through today. However, lifeguards were busy throughout the county. San Buenaventura State Beach recorded 897 “preventative actions” and two rescues, officials said.

Even with the low surf, county lifeguards warned swimmers to exercise caution. “If people are going to be at the beach, they should swim in the lifeguarded area and stay out of the rip currents,” said Mark Thompson, a seasonal lifeguard supervisor at San Buenaventura state beach.

Increased numbers of beach goers contributed to traffic slowdowns on the Ventura Freeway, CHP officials said. But no major accidents were reported.

“Things have been going pretty smoothly all weekend, but traffic was heavy in Ventura on the 101,” said Toni Tyson, CHP communications operator.

The countywide forecast calls for sunny skies through today, with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s inland and 70s along the coast, said Bruce Rockwell of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

The air quality was rated unhealthful in Simi Valley on Saturday. It is expected to improve slightly today but still remain unhealthful.

Correspondent Chris Chi contributed to this report.