Marin Firefighters Head to Malibu to Battle Massive Blaze

More than a dozen Marin fire personnel are on their way to Southern California to help control the Ventura County Springs Fire that has reached the Pacific Ocean and is nearing Malibu.

The fire started near Camarillo, 50 miles north of Los Angeles. It has burned 10,000 acres and threatens 2,000 homes. For live updates on the fire, .

Mill Valley Battalion Chief Mike St. John is serving as the strike team leader of the group, which includes firefighters from Kentfield, San Rafael and Marin County Fire as well as four fire engines owned by the California Emergency Management Agency and operated by local Marin agencies, only to be used as backup engines or for situations like this, St. John said.

Southern Marin Fire Protect District Battalion Chief Matt Barnes is part of the squad, which also includes one engine from San Francisco.

California firefighters are also battling wildfires in Sonoma and Napa County, which have been sending smoke into the Bay Area and creating hazy skies.

It has been a busy fire week in the neighboring San Rafael, where firefightersextinguished four grassfires in a roughly 24-hour window.

As this week’s heat wave continues, San Rafael Fire Chief Chris Gray said fire danger remains “severe” in Marin.

Tips to avoid fires:

• Report any sign of smoke or fire immediately to your local fire department by calling 9-1-1 (if you call 9-1-1 from your cell phone, please try to know the location of where you are calling from).
• Use extreme caution when operating any machinery or equipment in or near hazardous grass or brush areas.
• Any mowing or weed eating should be done before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m.
• Never use lawn mowers in dry vegetation (and NEVER during extremely dry conditions).
• Spark arresters are required in wildland areas on all portable gasoline powered equipment.
• Residents should make sure they have 100 feet of defensible space around structures.
• Clear dead weeds and vegetation.
• Remove leaves and needles from gutters.
• Trim branches 6 feet from the ground.