Nearly 500 firefighters are continuing their battle against a brush fire burning in the Los Padres National Forest, in Ventura County. The Pine Fire has burned more nearly 1700 acres of trees, chaparral, and brush in the mountains about 10 miles northeast of Ojai, with zero percent containment.
Firefighters have had to rely on a fleet about 10 water dropping helicopters because of the rugged terrain. The area is so remote that ground crews had to be flown into the area by helicopter. Yesterday, someone flew a drone into the area, but firefighters were able to find the pilot, and ground the unmanned aircraft. The area is restricted airspace to manned and unmanned flights because of the airborne firefighting efforts.
No structures have been reported damaged in the isolated area. There’s no word on what caused the fire, which started last Thursday morning.
