SPFD: Spot fire along Hwy 126
quickly doused in spite of winds
April 17, 2015
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
With the drought turning brush into tinder and Santa Ana winds blowing Santa Paula Fire was right on a small spot fire that broke out along Highway 126 Thursday morning.
The fire was reported about 7:10 a.m. on the eastbound side of the highway at Hallock Drive near the Lemonwood Industrial Park.
Santa Paula Fire was first on the scene and extinguished the fire in a matter of minutes; although Ventura County Fire also responded for mutual aid its units were cancelled.
Although the east winds were not as severe as initially feared when they began Wednesday, Thursday did experience gusts of up to 38 mph, according to www.SPWeather.net
A “red flag” warning issued earlier in the week was expected to remain in effect until 8 p.m. Thursday with gusty Santa Ana winds and low relative humidity for the valleys of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring at the time or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures create the extreme fire behavior that often prompts fire agencies to beef up their staffing to handle fires that under the “red flag” conditions can quickly turn into conflagrations.