Barranca Fire Gives Homeowners a Scare

A fire fueled by parched poison oak briefly threatened homes near Foothill Road on Sunday, sending some residents to their roofs with garden hoses before firefighters contained the small blaze a short time later.

The fire, which authorities consider suspicious, started in the Arundell Barranca near the 300 block of Crestwood Avenue around 11:30 a.m. and burned about one acre.

Overcast skies and mild breezes helped firefighters extinguish the fire in about 20 minutes before it could reach a hillside of eucalyptus trees, which could have fanned the flames.

“Eucalyptus trees have such a high oil content, when they start to burn, a fire can really take off,” said Bill Rigg, assistant battalion chief with the Ventura Fire Department.

Richard Bryson, 51, was cleaning his patio when he saw what he thought were dust clouds blowing up from the barranca. When he realized it was a fire on the other side of his fence, he told his son, Christopher, 23, to call 911. Bryson and his wife, Kim, then turned their garden hoses on full blast, but felt powerless against the flames.

“With the flames jumping up 12 to 15 feet, you feel like you’re just spitting in the wind,” said Kim Bryson, a sales associate with a title company.

About an hour before the fire started, she said she heard boys playing in the barranca. Officials believe the fire was either intentionally or negligently set, but they so far have no witnesses.

“It was obviously caused by somebody,” said Ventura Fire Capt. David Frost, whose engine was the first of five to arrive on the scene.

Scott Carey was driving home with his wife, Patsy, and their 6-year-old son, Sean, after a weekend of camping, when he noticed the billows of black smoke coming from his neighborhood. But only when he arrived home did he realize the fire was adjacent to his property. While his wife gathered valuables, he climbed on the roof of his home with a hose to help keep the flames at bay.

“I don’t know what good it did,” said Carey, a accountant. Later, he and other residents thanked the nearly 20 firefighters for saving their homes.

Battalion Chief Brian Gordon said he was grateful for the weather. Gordon said he was surprised when the brush fire call came in because he had expected rain Sunday. “Thank goodness it wasn’t last weekend with the Santa Anas.”

A storm out of the Pacific Northwest is expected to move through the area today. The National Weather Service predicts a 40% chance of rain in the morning, with clouds and winds subsiding by afternoon.