Crews Attack Grass Fire From Ground, Sky

A grass fire scorched between seven and 10 acres on a steep bluff east of the Ventura Freeway on Monday afternoon near the beachfront hamlet of La Conchita, authorities said.

Two water-dropping helicopters, five engines, a bulldozer and a hand crew completely contained the fire in about 3 1/2 hours, said Joe Luna, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

The blaze caused no injuries and did not threaten homes in the small community, he said. The fire climbed the steep hill, but died out when it encountered heavier brush. It did not spread to an avocado ranch at the top of the bluff, Luna said.

At the time the fire broke out about 1:30 p.m., fire officials reported that an electrical transformer had exploded and ignited the brush. But Luna said Monday evening that the cause of the blaze remained under investigation.

Nearby residents reported they had lost electric power, but officials are investigating whether the outage was related to the blaze, Luna said.

The fire was similar to two Sunday afternoon grass blazes--one in Thousand Oaks, another in Somis--and may be a harbinger of things to come, Luna said.

“If the weather keeps going the way it is, more and more of the vegetation is going to dry out,� he said. “We’re going to have a lot more flashy fuel fires.�