Firefighters Unable to Contain Brush Fire

A slow-moving brush fire was burning Monday night on rock-covered hills in eastern Simi Valley and Ventura County officials said the blaze had already consumed more than 240 acres.

The fire broke out shortly before 2:30 p.m. about 200 yards north of the Ronald Reagan Freeway, just east of Kuehner Drive in Simi Valley, said Joe Luna, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

Flames were moving east Monday night toward Rocky Peak Fire Road near the Ventura County-Los Angeles County line, Luna said.

The blaze had not been contained and authorities were uncertain when the fire would be completely extinguished. But some crews were being released late Monday.

Massive rocks dotting the hills were impeding the fire’s path and slowing the spread of flames, authorities said.

It took three hours for the fire to triple in size from 50 acres to more than 150 acres, authorities said.

But the rugged terrain was also hampering efforts to fight the blaze from the ground. Luna said firetrucks could not drive into the area of the heart of the fire and that firefighters were hiking in to construct a fire line to stop the blaze from spreading.

Four water-dropping helicopters were battling a majority of the blaze from the air, Luna said.

“It’s very rocky, hilly terrain and there is a lot of work to do on the ground. We’ll be here through the night and into morning,” Luna said.

There was little or no wind most of the day and the peak temperature was 83 degrees Monday afternoon.

Although there were no reports of injuries, firefighters were concerned about heatstroke and exhaustion and consumed extra water and took frequent breaks, authorities said.

The cause of the fire had not been established Monday night, but Luna said Ventura County arson investigators were called to the scene.

Authorities are pursuing leads, but Luna refused to elaborate except to say that the fire appears to have started at a trail head near Rocky Peak Fire Road.

Meanwhile, at the height of the fire Monday afternoon large black clouds of smoke could be seen throughout Simi Valley and as far away as Chatsworth, witnesses said.

Smoke occasionally streamed over the freeway and into a mobile home park off Topanga Canyon Boulevard more than a mile away, authorities said.

As of 9 p.m., no one had been evacuated and the freeway remained open, authorities said. The area of the fire lies across the freeway, just north of a large community of upscale homes.

Commuter traffic heading west into Simi Valley slowed around 6 p.m. and caused a minor backup in the westbound lanes as drivers braked to watch helicopters take turns dumping water onto the blaze.

Simi Valley police and California Highway Patrol officers were directing traffic on surface streets to keep vehicles moving, Luna said.

The fire was being fought by 253 firefighters from Ventura and Los Angeles counties and the California Department of Forestry, Luna said.

There were 10 fire engines on scene and seven hand crews clearing brush and vegetation to slow the fire’s progress, Luna said.

The fire is the third largest this season in Ventura County. A brush fire two weeks ago burned 2,800 acres near Lake Piru, and a blaze in late June at Kings Campground blackened 650 acres.