Camp Log Blamed for Brush Fire

A large smoldering log left in an abandoned campfire ring was blamed for a brush fire that burned for two days and blackened 200 acres of forest land northwest of Ojai, authorities said Tuesday night.

The fire started about 11:40 a.m. Monday at MatilijaCampground, a recreation area in Los Padres National Forest about seven miles north of Matilija Reservoir, authorities said.

The blaze was 100% contained at 6 p.m. Tuesday, forest officials said.

Mop-up efforts to douse small hot spots started Tuesday night and will continue through the week, fire officials said. The fire was expected to be extinguished by Saturday.

“The log eventually burned to the point where it tipped out of the fire ring and touched onto some vegetation,” said Joe Pasinato, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.

The campers who left the fire have not been identified, but the investigation is continuing, he said.

The campground is small and can only be reached by walking, but it is heavily used in summer, Pasinato added.

Before the fire was contained Tuesday, 500 federal, state and county firefighters battled the blaze, which moved through heavy brush that blanketed steep slopes that had not burned in 14 years, Pasinato said.

The last blaze in the area was the Wheeler fire in 1985, which blackened 118,000 acres of forest land, he said.

On Tuesday, dozens of hand crews hiked to the west side of the fire and cut a line by removing brush and other vegetation to stop the blaze from spreading, Pasinato said.

The rough terrain forced many firefighters to be lowered into burning spots by helicopter. Four helicopters and one air tanker also fought the blaze from the air.

Three firefighters suffered smoke and heat-related injuries, Pasinato said. They were treated at county hospitals and released. Temperatures in the area topped 90 degrees Tuesday.

Some of the firefighters and equipment used to fight the blaze were being released Tuesday night, a forest dispatcher said.