Firefighters Hampered By Winds, Downed Trees
- From Ventura County Star staff reports
- Posted April 8, 2013 at 5:17 p.m., updated April 8, 2013 at 8:16 p.m.
Firefighters are hoping to get the upper hand on the blaze as the winds slightly subsided after dusk, but they warn the winds could pick up again. Meanwhile, downed trees and other debris in the roads are hampering firefighting efforts, officials said.
The fire was reported about 4:45 p.m. at a mobile home near the 1400 block of Goodenough Road and has grown to more than 50 acres, officials said.
The mobile home and a historic house along Goodenough have burned, but no injuries have been reported, said Capt. Mike Lindberry, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. At least one vehicle and several outbuildings also have burned.
Video: Fillmore fire burns near homes
Homes along Foothill, Morris, Teitsort and Hunter drives were threatened. Firefighters have evacuated the area, which is enveloped in smoke.
The 40 mph-plus winds were magnified as they raced down a canyon and fanned the fire early this evening, Lindberry said. On some roads, firefighters had to saw through downed trees to gain access to protect homes, he said.
Scores of firefighters from the Ventura County, Los Angeles County, Santa Paula, Fillmore and other fire departments were on scene. Helicopters are dropping water on the flames. Authorities also asked for an air tanker but could not get one.
Firefighters at 8 p.m. were focusing on structure protection while the fire burned uncontained across some hills.
Fillmore resident Jackie Gurrola said the fire was about 150 yards from the Maple Court home she shares with her husband, stepson and baby daughter.
"As of right now, the neighbors are hosing everything off," Gurrola said. "My husband and all the neighbors were hosing the three houses at the end of the cul-de-sac."
Her husband, Victor, 46, and several other men also began using shovels to create a dirt fireline.
"They just did a (water) drop in the orchard behind us," Gurrola said about 7 p.m.
Gurrola said the smoke is thick "even with all the doors and windows closed. We're all wearing masks. My husband cut up some T-shirts for us."
The family is ready to evacuate. "I get nervous and start wanting to pack up pictures, and my husband calms me down," she said.
Javier Aguilar, who lives near Goodenough, said he smelled smoke from his home on Shady Lane about 4:30 p.m. "I smelled the smoke and I knew it was a brush fire right away," Aguilar said.
Aguilar said he was a reserve firefighter for the Ventura County Fire Department for more than 20 years and has seen the damage a fire can do.
"I know what it's like to get up in the hills," Aguilar said. "It's always sad to see a house go up."
At the nearby Valley View Heights apartment complex, firefighters were warning residents to be ready to evacuate.
"I'm concerned about the wind. It's supposed to pick up later tonight," said Liz Hinklin, 43.
Sandi Campbell, 39, rushed home from her job in Camarillo when she heard about the fire. She, her husband and their 6-year-old daughter were getting ready to leave.
"We're just packing and will see what happens," she said.
Cindy Zanotti, who lives on the Canyon View cul-de-sac, said she went out on her back porch and could smell smoke. Her parents live in the area and she could see flames in their direction, so she drove to their house to get them ready to leave.
"I'm concerned about the wind more than anything, because it is so unpredictable," Zanotti said. "Just when you think they have a hold on it, it can change."
Evacuees Sue and Rick Cuttriss and Susan and Ed Hopkins are staying with friends Joanne and Doug King as they watch the fire coverage on television. The two couples were evacuated from their homes on Foothill Road this afternoon by firefighters and police in masks knocking at their doors.
"I'm seeing my house right now and there are firetrucks in my driveway," Susan Hopkins said as she watched the television coverage.
The two families have evacuated four other times since they moved in more than 30 years ago.
"I walked to the window this afternoon and said, 'It sure is dusty,' " Susan Hopkins, 63, said. "Then I said, 'That is smoke.' It was on the ridge behind our house. We burn every five or six years, so we have the evacuation down to a science."
In their haste to pack, Sue Cuttriss said she forgot a few things. "I got a whole bunch of pictures but I forgot our medicine and important papers," she said.
Sue is fairly calm "only because it usually turns out OK," she said. "The idea that our house will burn and won't be there when we get back is hard to believe."
Source: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2013/apr/08/second-brush-fire-flares-up-near-fillmore/
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