Fire Crews Succeed in Weakening Piru Blaze

PIRU —  The 4-day-old Hopper fire lost momentum Saturday, stalled by preemptive brush burning and a massive effort to clear the brittle vegetation in its path.

By evening, the blaze had scorched 20,250 acres of mountainous wilderness north of Fillmore and Piru. But authorities estimated that at least 1,000 of those had been ignited by fire crews to rob the advancing flames of fuel.

Meanwhile, firefighters using picks, shovels and rakes had nearly completed a buffer zone between the fire and the two communities to protect residents and farms.

The fire reached Lake Piru Campground and came within 1 1/2 miles of Piru but was faltering late Saturday. It was burning northeast, toward two 3-mile-long buffer zones that crews had spent two days clearing.

The fire was 30% contained by Saturday evening, and with temperatures dropping for the third straight day, officials predicted 50% to 60% containment by late today.

“After this evening, there shouldn’t be any threat at all to Piru,” Ventura County Fire Battalion Chief Larry Whelan told about 20 residents gathered Saturday afternoon at the Piru Community Center. “The weather has been good to us, and we’re making progress.”

Temperatures Saturday were in the high 80s, down more than 20 degrees from earlier in the week. Some fire engines protecting buildings near Lake Piru were sent home, although officials said it would take several more days to snuff out the flames.

In the smoke-filled canyons, helicopters dropped water and flammable spheres to aid the back-burning. Shots echoed through the hills as crews fired pistols loaded with explosives.

Investigators continued their search for clues to what caused the fire, which began Tuesday afternoon near an oil platform on Hopper Mountain. After saying Friday that arson had been ruled out, they retracted that conclusion and pressed ahead with interviews. U.S. Forest Service officials said a “key interview” was to be conducted Saturday evening.

“It appears to have been caused by man, but I don’t know if it’s accidental or malicious,” Ventura County Assistant Fire Chief Mark Sanchez said.

In Piru, residents expressed relief. Some had packed their cars with cat boxes, photo albums and other possessions.

“I did feel anxious,” said Maria Gonzalez, 53, who had hosed down her house earlier in the week. “But now I know we’re out of danger.”

At the post office downtown, a banner made by schoolchildren--a bit prematurely--read: “Thank you for putting out the fire.”

After criticism from cattle ranchers, who feared that preemptive fires would destroy pastures, firefighters scaled back their initial plan to burn several thousand acres. Officials were working with the Ventura County Farm Bureau on a plan to replant grass that had been burned and subsidize ranchers forced to buy hay.

Rancher Tim Lovelace, who moved a herd of cattle into a creek bottom to protect it, lost some pasture but said the blaze removed weeds. “What will grow back will be better,” he said.

Earlier, firefighters flew a giant Sikorsky SkyCrane helicopter within 100 feet of a dozen horses that had wandered close to flames on a steep mountainside. The helicopter nudged the animals to a safe canyon.

No citrus or avocado groves had been damaged.

“We’ve saved the Fillmore-Piru agricultural belt,” Ventura County Fire Capt. Norm Platt said.

The only structures destroyed in the blaze were an abandoned shed and boat near Lake Piru. Only four minor injuries were reported, none within the last two days.

The cost of battling the blaze continued to escalate, nearing $3.5 million. Those expenses included more than $170,000 for catering. In a two-day period, a crew of about 2,000 firefighters consumed 9,000 hot meals, 9,000 bag lunches and 36,000 bottles of water, iced tea, Gatorade and other cold drinks.