Vegetation in the Ventura area is already drying out, raising the risk of early-season grass fires, county fire officials said.
Brown patches have popped up on once-green hillsides as rainfall sits at 20-30% of normal and moderate drought conditions persist countywide. Some rain still could fall in April or even May, but Southern California is running out of chances. People should be prepared for an earlier start of our fire season, said county fire Capt. Kenneth VanWig.
The fire department collects samples every two weeks from stands of brush in Malibu, Casitas, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Ojai to check moisture levels.
A brush fire measuring approximately 10 acres caused the temporary closure of all westbound lanes of Highway 118 in Simi Valley on Thursday afternoon.
The fire was first reported at 1:05 p.m. north of the Madera Road exit of Highway 118.
Dubbed the Madera Fire, crews initially reported the fire was a half-acre in size before later reassessing the fire to measure between five and seven acres. Smoke was reported to be visible from the roadway and traffic was being affected by the presence of firefighters in the area.
By 1:30 p.m., California Highway Patrol requested the closure of all westbound lanes between Madera Road and Collins Drive for authorities to respond to the incident. As of 2 p.m., the fire measured about 10 acres in size. Firefighters expected to reopen one lane of the westbound 118 by 3:15 p.m., authorities said.
A man labeled a white supremacist by a Simi Valley city councilwoman denied the allegation on Monday and said it was payback for his earlier effort to have the councilwoman recalled.
City Councilwoman Ruth Luevanos unsuccessfully objected to Joe Piechowski s appointment at last week s City Council meeting to the executive board of Simi Valley Neighborhood Council 4, saying he promotes white supremacy.
Piechowski, who didn t speak at the meeting, on Monday dismissed Luevanos description. That couldn t be further from the truth, said the Simi Valley resident. Making an accusation like that without any proof is absurd, ridiculous. I deny it completely.