Category Archives: News and Notes

Wood stove flu causes hedge fire damaging garage

On Dec.29, at 3:12pm a resident working in his backyard was startled by popping sounds and a large head of smoke coming from his garage. The homeowner had an extinguisher and attempted to put out the blaze, but the fire moved quickly and was not extinguished.

Burned SkylightVentura City Fire Firefighters responded to the home in the 2000 block of Channel Dr. in midtown and discovered a large Bougainvillea hedge had ignited on the roof of the structure and was burning into the roof structure. Firefighters arrived in four minutes, laddered the building, and extinguished the fire. Firefighters also searched other parts of the dwelling and the adjacent house to ensure the fire was just contained to the unattached garage. The fire burned through two skylights and ignited part of the roofing material, but the interior of the garage was checked with a thermal imaging camera, and it was evident the fire was solely contained to the roof.

Ventura Police provided for traffic control. The fire investigation revealed the flu from a cast iron stove that was being used to heat the garage, put out enough heat and sparks to catch the adjacent hedge on fire. Ventura Firefighters cleared debris and temporarily sealed the roof assembly until the homeowner could replace the skylights.

Car loses control and crashes into light pole

On Dec.19, at 12:54pm  a four door sedan was traveling West bound on Aurora, when for unknown reasons, it lost control and went head on into a light pole. The light pole fractured and came to rest on top of the vehicle.

The occupant, in his 70’s, experienced mild chest pain from the accident, and was in minimal distress. As firefighters approached the vehicle, they used an electric volt meter and determined that the pole was still energized with electricity and had the occupants stay in the vehicle while they performed an assessment.

Southern California Edison was summoned. Ventura Police performed traffic mitigation, isolation of the area, and performed a traffic investigation.

Edison workers terminated the electrical hazard and the patient was removed from the vehicle and further assessed. The patient was not transported to the hospital.

 All incidents involving energized powerlines should be approached with the utmost caution. If energized powerlines are on top of a vehicle, ensure all occupants stay in the car until the power can be controlled or carefully removed by fire personnel. 

Christmas Eve wildfire on North West slope of Arroyo Verde Park

Just before 7pm on Christmas night, a wind driven wildfire started on the North West slope of Arroyo Verde Park near the middle of the recreational area. The fire was on a hill, approximately 100ft X 100ft in size and was in deep chaparral and trees spreading at a moderate speed. The Ventura Fire Department was currently on or responding to multiple emergencies in the city prior to the fire and one engine was available in the city to respond. A Ventura City engine, en route to another emergency, diverted to Arroyo Verde Park and arrived within two minutes of the initial alarm, established a water supply, and initiated a direct attack. Fire crews from the Ventura County Fire Department responded into the city from Camarillo, Rincon, and Oxnard to provide automatic aid. Crews worked in two divisions, surrounded the fire, used power tools to cut trees and place a control line around the fire. A fire hydrant, in close proximity, provided ample water—which significantly aided efforts to stop and control the blaze.

Ventura Police secured the park and provided traffic control, providing clear entry for fire equipment. The fire was knocked down within 35 minutes and fully extinguished in 90 minutes. The fire was contained to less than a quarter acre in. The fire was started by human activity, no evidence at the scene indicated whether the fire was set intentionally. The incident is currently under review by a Ventura Fire arson investigator. If anyone has any information in regard to suspicious activity in Arroyo Verde Park, please contact the Ventura Police Department.

Vol. 9, No. 6 – December 23, 2015 – January 5, 2016 – Answer In A Breeze

answer in aQ.   I have seen a notice next to the 101 freeway that A Kaiser is being planned. What will that be?

A.   It will be for specialized medicine. The proposed project is to construct a new 72,000 square foot medical office building in two phases and outdoor community spaces to include a community garden, nature walk, and amphitheater on a vacant 7 .58 acre property located at Valentine Road and Market Street in the Manufacturing Planned Development (MPD) Zone with a land use designation of Industrial.
Phase 1 would consist of a 3-story 56,000-square foot medical office building, 288 parking spaces, and 30 bicycle parking spaces. Phase 2 would consist of an additional 2-story 16,000-square foot medical office building and 132 additional parking spaces.

If you have a question you would like answered send it to [email protected] and we will try to get an answer for you.

 

Ventura City Firefighters thankful for anonymously donated toys

stuff fire deptThe Ventura City Firefighters would like the thank the generous citizen who anonymously donated these toys at Fire Station 2 for the ‘Spark of Love’ toy drive. We were out of the Station when the toys were dropped off and found them later in the day behind the back fence so we never had the chance to say ‘thank you’ in person. New toys can be donated at any Fire Station for the toy drive.

Happy Holidays and Thank you!
~ Fire Station 2 Ventura City Fire Dept.

Free sandbags

sandbagsResidents may pick up free sand and sandbags at the following City locations (please bring your own shovel):

Sanjon Maintenance Yard:  336 Sanjon Road
Ventura City Fire Station #1:  717 N. Ventura Avenue
Ventura City Fire Station #6:  10797 Darling Road

For El Nino preparedness and flood information, including Weather Service links and other helpful tips, visit www.ReadyVenturaCounty.org/elnino.

Hotels to host Special Olympics Athletes in Parade of Lights

The Four Points by Sheraton and owner, Joseph Fan celebrate another year as a major sponsor of the Ventura Harbor Village Parade of Lights.

As part of the festivities, they will host 120 Special Olympics Athletes, their family members, and chaperones from Ventura County, who will be on board three vessels entered in the parade on Saturday, December 19.  This is, by far, the largest participation by Special Olympics Athletes.

Joseph Fan, President of Brighton Management, is owner of the Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor and the Holiday Inn Express Ventura Harbor.  The hotels are proud sponsors of Special Olympics Ventura County.

“For almost 10 years Joseph Fan and Victor Dollar, Sheraton’s General Manager, have included Special Olympics Athletes in their parade entries.  The generosity that they show our Special Olympics athletes, along with meeting space they provide for Ventura County Special Olympics staff and volunteers, is so appreciated.  We truly value their support and enthusiasm for our Special Olympics program,” states Regional Director, Peggi Preston.

Special thanks go out to the Channel Island Sea Ray Owners Club who provided the three vessels.  The Taiwan Hotel Motel Association of Southern California and its members and friends provided additional funding for the event.

Special Olympics Ventura County (SOVC) offers free of charge year-round sports training and competition opportunities to over 500 individuals with intellectual disabilities, ages 8 years and up, in 10 different sports at over 20 training sites throughout Ventura County.

For more information on Ventura County Special Olympics, please call  650-7717 or visit www.sosc.org/ventura.

 

Two moms write grant for playground equipment for their babies

by Victoria Usher

Betsy and Maritza are two extremely kind and strong mothers who both came up with the idea to write a very specific grant. Pacific High School is a project based learning school. Betsy and Maritza are involved in a project known as SPARK. SPARK is a project where you choose your own passion and then create a project out of that passion. Both Betsy and Maritza have 1-year-old little boys who attend the on campus children’s daycare called First Steps where there is a playground outside. Unfortunately the playground lacks equipment that is suitable for their young toddlers and also for infants who attend First Steps. This is what truly inspired these two mothers to come up with the wonderful idea to raise money in order to have an all ages friendly playground for everyone who attends First Steps. They are both truly passionate about making sure that all of the children that come to First Steps have an all-around happy and healthy environment and a large part of that includes having an appropriate playground for them.

Betsy and Maritza both had ideas such as fundraisers and bake sales but they decided that writing up a grant might be a better idea. Once they had made the final decision to write the grant they then contacted Diann Block to get her help in guiding them through the process. “What is truly impressive is that this is a student driven idea that they passionately pursued into a grant that the public can help fund,” said Diann Block, Teacher at Pacific High School.

DonorsChoose has actually come out with a student grant where teachers help students in creating a grant. When Betsy and Maritza discovered this they both thought it was a great idea and decided to go for it. Bill Gates and Staples even combined their efforts in order to match funds for this grant!

These two mothers have such a strong love for their children and want them and the rest of the children at First Steps to have a great experience. It’s a truly beautiful thing to see people with so much passion for this type of selfless change. They have very recently reached the target goal for their grant which is an amazing achievement and everyone involved is thrilled about it. If you would like to learn more about this exciting grant and maybe even donate then please take a moment to read it over (lots of look entering this)!

http://www.donorschoose.org/project/ready-set-go-let-our-babies-play-at-f/1725292/?rf=link-siteshare-2015-11-teacher-teacher_618533&challengeid=140244

 

Heavy surf causes local damage

High surf damages Ventura Pier. Photo by Bob Messina
High surf damages Ventura Pier. Photo by Bob Messina

Due to the recent high surf conditions the Ventura Police Department evacuated the few citizens who were on the Ventura Pier and closed it to the public.  The Pier sustained structural damage including wooden pilings, cross-bracings and handrails that were destroyed.  City of Ventura Public Works staff are working with inspectors to evaluate the extent of damage, stabilize to prevent further damage and to assess repairs needed.  The Pier will remain closed until determined it is safe to re-open.

High tides continued to bring powerful waves from off-shore storms for several days.  The public was advised to avoid entering the ocean during the very dangerous high surf conditions, especially near the Pier and the debris.

Also one of the palm trees near Surfers’ Point fell over and there continues to be erosion impacting the bike path and promenade.  Visitors are advised to avoid the area until repairs are made.