Girl Burned While Playing Near Grill

A 3-year-old Oxnard girl was recovering Tuesday from second- and third-degree burns she suffered over 20% of her body when a barbecue grill reportedly ignited her clothes, police said.

The injuries occurred about 6:30 p.m. Monday as a group of about a dozen children played in a grassy picnic area in a condominium complex in the 500 block of Orilla Walk.

Police and neighbors said the girl is one of two young daughters in the Herrera family, who live in the complex. Police refused to release the girl’s first name.

Investigators believe the children were playing with a butane lighter near one of four grills in the area that apparently had been left on. After the girl’s clothes caught fire, an adult noticed the commotion and called the Oxnard Fire Department.

City fire officials and police are interviewing several witnesses between the ages of 8 and 12. No adults were watching the children, Sgt. Marty Meyer said, so sorting out what happened could take longer than usual.

The burns were not life-threatening, and the girl was being treated at Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks after first being taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, police said.

“The standard is that there should always be parental supervision,” Meyer said. “Playing with fire, playing with matches, that’s taboo for younger kids.”