Ventura County firefighters have the upper hand on a 50 acre plus brush fire off of Highway 101 between Thousand Oaks and Camarillo.
A series of spot blazes were reported at about 2:45 Tuesday afternoon on the north side of Highway 101 near Camarillo Springs. They grew into one fire, called the Grade Incident. Firefighters aided by helicopters worked to quickly confine the fire, which put up a huge cloud of smoke.
The growth of the blaze was stopped by around 4 p.m., but firefighters are now using some back burns to remove some islands of brush which could still allow the flames to spread. They say as a result of the back fires, the total acreage burned could end up at around 70 acres.
Steve Swindle, with the Ventura County Fire Department, says they were also aided by the fact the fire occurred between Highway 101 and a nearby road, giving them barriers to help stop the flames. No structures were threatened, and Highway 101 remained open. The cause of the fires is under investigation.
