Firefighters Gain Upper Hand on Blaze

Weary firefighters finally gained the upper hand Wednesday night on a stubborn fire that has consumed more than 10,000 acres of wild, brush-covered country in the Santa Clara Valley.

The ridgelines of 3,024-foot-high Oak Mountain north of Fillmore were still smoldering, and the 1,400 firefighters who have been battling the blaze will be busy for days dousing hot spots, officials said.

Still, the worst of the fire, which started Sunday with a welder’s spark and at times threatened residential neighborhoods, appeared to be over, Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Mike Lindbery said.

“I think we’ve turned the corner on it now,” Lindbery said. “Things have certainly calmed down.”

The fire was nearly 80% contained and officials expect full containment by Friday. Some firefighters may be released as early as today, authorities said.

That is welcome news to the exhausted firefighters who have spent scores of hours on the front lines of the blaze since Sunday. As the danger seemed to have passed Wednesday, they stole sleep whenever, and wherever, they could.

Because bunks were full inside the station, Ventura County fire control worker Mike Cutting slept alongside nine other men on the front lawn of the county fire station on Old Telegraph Road in Fillmore. Most were stretched out on sleeping bags, still dressed in their rumpled blue uniforms.

“Yeah, we’re a little tired,” Cutting said. His crew had just returned from a 14-hour shift setting controlled burns to stop the fire’s progress.

Cutting had been working the fire since Sunday.

“I try to catch up on sleep when I can, maybe 15 or 20 minutes during a break on the line. But we pretty much try to keep each other motivated and talk a lot to each other.”

Fellow fire control worker Douglas Peterman was struggling to get some much-needed rest under the bright afternoon sun before heading back up to the fire line.

“It’s not exactly a 9 to 5 kind of job I have here,” Peterman said. “Plus, you’re helping others, and that keeps you motivated.”

Several miles away, a group of Los Angeles County firefighters rested in the shade of their firetruck. Capt. Luis Acevedo recalled the tense battle the day before to save homes and orchards on Goodenough Road.

“Yesterday was hard,” Acevedo said. “Protecting those orchards, that was a high priority for us. Altogether we were up about 22 hours.”

So far, the hard work has paid off--no homes were damaged in the blaze despite evacuations of several dozen people in Fillmore. A recreational vehicle in which one man was living was destroyed. Douglas Roy Jr. narrowly escaped when the flames swept through the vehicle, which was parked in an orchard.

The Ventura County Farm Bureau said only one grower, Hillside Farms, has reported crop losses. Hillside said 824 citrus trees were destroyed by the fire. Farm bureau officials said they don’t know if the state will help farmers recoup their losses, but they are compiling an inventory just in case.

The pall of smoke that has hung over the county for several days prompted public health warnings in Fillmore. The Air Pollution Control District suggested the young and elderly stay indoors and refrain from strenuous activity.

Robert M. Levin, Ventura County health officer, warned that pollution from the fire could endanger people with problems such as asthma and heart conditions.

Fillmore Unified School District officials also advised teachers to keep students inside at recess.

“We’ve been very cautious,” said Susan Dollar, personnel and risk manager for the district. “We’ve had some asthmatic children who we’ve had to be very careful with.”

By Wednesday night, the fire had burned 10,059 acres. Officials estimate the cost of fighting the blaze could run as high as $4 million.

Authorities are still trying to decide whether they will try to recoup the costs from the 41-year-old Fillmore welder who they say started the fire Sunday while trying to open a locked gate on a Piru ranch. The identity of the welder has not been released.

Times Community News writer Jason Takenouchi contributed to this story.