Firefighters fend off 15-acre blaze near 118
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers HIT IT- Firefighter Mike Mejia of Station No. 44 prepares to soak a fire remnant that was part of a grassland blaze which burned near Highway 118 and Madera Road on Monday.

Simi Valley saw its first brushfire of the year Monday afternoon when flames erupted at the top of Madera Road near the 118 Freeway.

The relatively small but highly visible fire began at 1:50 p.m. and consumed 15 acres of brush before it was contained by firefighters by about 5 p.m., said Capt. Barry Parker of the Ventura County Fire Department.

"We felt pretty comfortable because of where the fire was at," Parker said. "It was surrounded . . . with the 118 in front of it. It provided a nice buffer zone for firefighters."

About 100 firefighters from the VCFD and Cal Fire helped contain the blaze. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department provided two waterdropping helicopters to assist the effort.

Parker said there were some commercial businesses nearby that were "potentially threatened" for a short time, but in the end no structures were damaged. During the fire, occupants of nearby buildings were instructed to stay inside, he said.

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers

"There was a little smoke and ash but other than that, we were fine," said Frank Fodera, tire center manager at Costco.

The fire impacted the nearby railroad, causing a minor delay in the Metrolink rail schedule. Also, California Highway Patrol closed the slow lane of the 118 Freeway as a precaution.

"It was all opened up within four hours," Parker said.

Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

LIVES FIRST- One firefighter assists another suffering from heat exhaustion as they are evacuated by helicopter from a 15-acre grass fire near Highway 118 and Madera Road on Monday afternoon. The fire was brought under control by about 5:20 p.m.