Fire department to seek $250,000 in restitution

Acorn Staff Writer


Fire department to seek $250,000

in restitution

Last week’s 600-acre Westlake fire cost about $250,000 to suppress and the Ventura County Fire Department will seek restitution from the four teenagers who allegedly caused it, officials said Friday.


The figure is an estimate by financial representatives from the fire department as well as the California Department of Forestry, according to Sandi Wells, chief information officer for the fire department. Wells said the estimate might not be the final figure.


The fire, which was reported at 2:26 a.m. Dec. 26, was apparently caused when four joyriding male teenagers in a stolen minivan overheated the engine after getting stuck in the dry brush area near Lakeview Canyon Road and Woodland Grove Court, in the Westlake portion of T.O. The fire was caused when the heat from the car combined with exhaust and sparks, igniting the dry brush, officials reported.


If found guilty of the pending charge of carelessly causing the fire, the suspects—three local juveniles, two 16 year olds from Agoura Hills and one 17 year old from Thousand Oaks, and Chad Montagnio, 18, of Westlake Village— will have to make restitution for causing the fire, said Wells.


The fire department will first seek that restitution through the criminal court system, asking the district attorney on the case to request that the judge include restitution in the suspects’ sentences, should they be found liable for causing the fire, Wells said. If the judge chooses not to do so, the fire department would pursue the matter in civil court, she said.


Ultimately, the parents of the minors would be responsible for the costs, said juvenile investigator Matt Dunn. The suspects also are facing felony charges of vehicle theft. The minivan belonged to one of the juvenile’s mothers, who had reported it stolen earlier that evening.


The fire took nearly 11 hours to fully extinguish, with 600 firefighters from many agencies battling the blazes.


"The fire was put out at about 1 p.m., which is amazing, considering the intensity with which it burned," said Wells, explaining that in addition to the 40 mph Santa Ana winds that blew that day, the fire created its own winds.


Although there were no injuries or homes lost, about 100 homes were directly threatened.


"We had engines with hose lines in backyards," said Wells, crediting the success of the fire suppression to "weed abatement and aggressive firefighting."


"The firefighters were not going to let those houses burn," she said.





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