Candle Starts Fire at Complex

A burning candle that came in contact with paper towels sparked a fire at an apartment complex Saturday that caused about $150,000 in damage, authorities said.

The fire was reported shortly before 5 p.m. at the Wood Ranch Apartments at 359 Country Club Drive, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. Firefighters doused the flames in about 30 minutes.

The fire started in the kitchen of a first-floor unit occupied by Donna Curtis. Upon seeing flames, Curtis called authorities and then evacuated.

Her unit was gutted by fire and an adjacent apartment was left uninhabitable by smoke and water damage, the Fire Department said.

Structural damage was estimated at $70,000, and the value of the contents in the apartments was $80,000.

The Red Cross responded to help Curtis and two others who were displaced, but all three people found friends and relatives to stay with Saturday night, the Fire Department said.

The complex is a two-story, tile-roofed structure with 16 units that is owned by the Lincoln Wood Ranch Co.