Fire Near Lake Piru Engulfs Up to 1,800 Acres

The county’s largest brush fire of the season broke out Saturday afternoon in dry, rugged hills near Lake Piru, consuming up to 1,800 acres by evening, fire officials said.

There were no reports of injuries, and the fire appeared to be heading east along Holser Canyon and into Los Angeles County and away from populated areas.

The blaze had been 25% contained, and prospects were “looking better” by evening, said Sandi Wells, a spokeswoman for the Ventura County Fire Department. Full containment was expected by dusk on Sunday and the fire is expected to be to be extinguished the following day.

Firefighters responded to a 911 call received at 2:42 p.m., Wells said. The fire began along Holser Canyon Road, started by a ricocheting bullet from a nearby firing range, officials said.

About 350 firefighters, mostly from Ventura County, Los Angeles County and the California Department of Forestry, went to the scene. Neither the Los Padres nor Angeles national forests were affected.

“It’s putting on quite a show for both counties,” Wells said.

Much of the fire was in a remote area that could be reached only by air. Four water-dropping helicopters and six air tankers were sent, Wells said.

Campgrounds near Lake Piru were not evacuated, and day campers were still being let into the park, despite the smoke that billowed over the ridge.

“We’re sticking around for the view,” said Stephen Meade, a camper from Santa Barbara, who with his wife and son watched the fire from a roadside near Piru Dam. “There are still tons of people at the campground, though now there’s a ceiling of smoke.”

Some travelers along Highway 126 stopped to watch planes drop chemicals on the fire as it crept through the dry hills above Lake Piru.

“We’re watching it peek over the ridge,” said Penny Jensen of Sylmar, who stopped to look at the fire through binoculars while on her way home from Oxnard. “It keeps dropping and coming back out.”

At one time the fire threatened four ranch homes, but crews kept the flames away. Five- to 10-mph ocean breezes kept the fire heading east, Wells said.

The county’s most recent large fire occurred last month, consuming about 600 acres in Los Padres National Forest. That fire also was believed to have been caused by target shooters. The fire season began June 1.