Firefighters put a stop to the Westwood fire in Simi Valley at 25 acres
Ventura County firefighters battle the Westwood fire in Simi Valley, CA. on Sunday, April 4, 2021. The Westwood fire grew to 25 acres before forward progress was stopped. Photo credit: Ryan Bough
April 7, 2021
On April 4, the Ventura County Fire Department responded to a reported brush fire near Cottonwood Drive and Westwood Street in Simi Valley. A large head of smoke was showing miles out and was named the Westwood Fire.
Engine 46 and Medic Engine 43 arrived on scene with approximately two acres moving uphill at a moderate rate of spread. Firefighters believed it had potential for 20-30 acres and requested for air tankers to be ordered.
Ventura County Fire Department Division Chief John Spykerman relayed, “We have a first alarm brush responding to the incident, along with five additional type three engines. We also have two helicopters and two airtankers that will be working the fire.”
By the time the fire was approximately half a mile off the roadway, incident command requested five additional brush engines to the scene. The helicopters main priority at the fire was the east side since it was closest to homes.
Ventura County Fire Department’s Public Information Officer, Robert Welsbie explained, “Firefighter’s sometimes have a long walk carrying hose and tools just to get to work. Here you can see ground and air resources working together to battle this fire.”
After one hour of battling the flames, incident command ordered three additional hand crews for a total of four on scene. A hand crew is a team of 15-20 personnel who fight the fire by cutting line in the brush with hand tools such as axes, shovels, chainsaws and specialized rakes.
Throughout the entire incident, there were no evacuations ordered and no structures were threatened.
Simi Valley Police Department worked to control traffic and public safety while the firefighters fought the fire.
This was an unusually large wildfire for early April.
20-year-old climate activist Edgar McGregor stated, “Peak fire season in Southern California is six months away. A devastating California wildfire season is now underway.”
Firefighters were able to make good progress fairly quickly. Within approximately two hours, the fire was around 23 acres and no structures of infrastructures were threatened. Forward progress had stopped and as of 6:30 p.m. the fire was 90% contained.
The cause is still under investigation and firefighters remained on scene throughout the night mopping up and securing the line.
On April 5, 2021, Ventura County Fire Department Chief Jonathan Cox confirmed “the Westwood Fire off Westwood Street and Cottonwood Drive, near Simi Valley in Ventura County, is 25 acres and 100% contained.”
