On March 28, 2021 at 8:13 P.M. Ventura County Fire Department was called to the 11000 block of Broadway Road in Moorpark for a report of a vegetation fire. When VCFD Engine 42 arrived on scene, they observed a row of approximately 15 eucalyptus trees engulfed in flames reaching about 120 feet high.

There were around 50 firefighters from the area called to the scene. The trees that were on fire were infant of a single family home. Thankfully all the residence there were safe. The homeowners wished to remain anonymous.

“I was asleep and woke up to our front yard on fire,” stated a resident. “My family members saw the flames from across the town and called me to make sure I was okay.”

At one point, a horse barn was being threatened by the flames. The main goal for the firefighters was to keep the flames away from the structure and power lines.

Southern California Edison, was called to the scene to shut the power off in the area. This was done as a precaution to avoid the spread of the fire as seen in previous years.

Southern California Edison arrived to the scene approximately 30 minutes after being called and successfully turned off the power. Powerlines have been a large issue in the past with fire spread explained an Edison employee.

Since the fire was off the main road, there was no direct water access. They called for the water tender, which holds approximately 3,000 gallons of water. Since the fire was spreading quickly, they couldn’t wait until that truck got there and needed to put water on it as soon as possible.

The solution was to hook up a hose to each truck and create an assembly line to get water to the fire from the street. Engine 42 was able to get a good handle on the fire with the deck gun approach and was close to making a knockdown. They switched over to hand lines and continued to extinguish the flame.

Captain Robert Welsbie with Ventura County Fire Department, states “the cause is still under investigation and can take days, weeks and even months to determine.”

Fire crews continued to stay on scene overnight to make sure hot spots didn’t flare up. This fire was named the Broadway Fire but it remained relatively calm and did not spread too much.

The Santa Ana winds are returning within the next couple weeks which means fire danger is going to be extreme. More blazes have ignited through out Ventura County including the Madera Fire on Thursday, April 1, 2021, in Simi Valley, CA. that burned over 10 acres.

To stay up to date on fire alerts visit the Ventura county emergency website.