Brush Fire Frightens Residents

A brush fire in east Ventura scared some residents of the Todd Ranch condominium complex, but was extinguished by firefighters within 20 minutes.

The one-acre fire started about 12:15 p.m. in a barranca on the west side of the complex and burned trees and grass before briefly jumping to some pine needles on the roof of a condo unit.

Pamela Kingsbury, who lives near the barranca, said she saw fire and lots of smoke coming from the roof and brought out her hose to spray the leaping flames. “I was scared it was going to jump to the dry tree right near my house,” she said. “The whole thing could have gone up in flames.”

Kingsbury and a neighbor doused the small flame, presumably started by an ember that floated from the ravine.

“The noncombustible roof definitely saved that house,” said Kevin Rennie, a battalion chief with the Ventura Fire Department. “If it had been wood shingles we would have had a great big fire down there.”

Bonnie Pennell, who also lives near the fire, said the barranca had a large amount of dry brush and dead trees that needed to be cleared out.

“There were a lot of flames that kept spreading and hot embers were flying while everything was covered in smoke,” she said. “It wouldn’t take long for the buildings to catch on fire. And we had a fire in one of the buildings only about four weeks ago.”

Rennie said 22 firefighters and eight engines responded to Thursday’s blaze. The cause of the small blaze has not been determined, but he said it seemed suspicious.

“It was in a barranca with no power lines down or anything like that,” Rennie said. “We have no definite idea how it started.”