2 Teen Girls Jailed After Brush Fire

Police arrested two teenage girls in connection with a small brush fire that burned about a quarter-acre on the southwest side of Gabbert Road, Moorpark sheriff’s deputies and fire officials said Monday.

Ventura County Fire Department crews arrived at the fire about 6:15 p.m. Sunday and extinguished it within 15 minutes, fire officials said.

Witnesses told police they had seen two teenage girls flee the scene after smoke rose from the open space near Darlene Lane. Then the girls were seen entering a house less than a mile from the scene, where one of them lives, said Sheriff’s Det. Allen Devers of the Moorpark station.

Police cited the girls, both 16, for arson and turned them over to their parents pending a review of the case by the Ventura County Youth Authority.

Fire officials estimate the blaze caused $250 in damage to the vacant property.

“Fortunately, there are not too many homes out in the area, and the Fire Department responded quickly and got it out,” Devers said.

Both girls admitted starting the fire, Devers said, which was ignited with spray paint and matches. The teenagers told police they planned to put the fire out once it was started, the detective said.

“They decided that they wanted to try to build a little fire and put it out,” he said. “It got bigger than they realized it would.”

When the fire quickly spread, the girls fled, Devers said.

The witnesses were able to provide police with a description of the two girls, Devers said.

One of the girls attends Moorpark Community High School, and the other is a Gateway Community School student, Devers said.