ARSONIST SOUGHT VAL VERDE FIRE INTENTIONALLY SET, D.A. SAYS.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The wind-whipped fire that started in Val Verde and swept west to burn nearly 90,000 acres in Ventura County was intentionally set, Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley said Monday.

``Those who start these fires are no better than domestic terrorists and should be dealt with as such,'' Cooley said in a statement.

More than 400 firefighters worked feverishly with chain saws, shovels and bulldozers to stop the inferno at the Ventura-Los Angeles county line and prevent the blaze from reaching neighborhoods in Stevenson Ranch and Santa Clarita.

``We're keeping our finger on the pulse of this fire, and asking residents to be prepared in the event that the winds shift,'' said Los Angeles Sheriff's Lt. Brenda Cambra.

Firefighters' efforts to protect homes in Simi Valley, Fillmore, Moorpark and Santa Paula were aided Monday by the easing of bone-dry Santa Ana winds, but officials were concerned that a wind shift to an onshore flow expected today could blow the flames back toward Santa Clarita and the northern San Fernando Valley.

To avoid that, firefighters set backfires around the western edge of the Santa Clarita Valley, sending plumes of first black and then white smoke hundreds of feet in the air that alarmed many Santa Clarita residents.

``Everybody is on edge right now,'' Cambra said. ``But unless that wind changes, we're in pretty good shape.''

Dubbed the Verdale Fire, the blaze started about 1 p.m. Friday near San Martinez Road and Verdale Drive and quickly engulfed canyons full of heavy, dry brush along state Highway 126. It was the third fire in as many days in the same general area, officials said.

In August, fire officials blamed arsonists for as many as eight fires in the east end of Val Verde, a small village founded as a haven for African-Americans in the days of racial segregation that has largely been passed over by the housing boom in the Santa Clarita Valley.

As of Monday afternoon, the Val Verde fire, which has consumed a total of 8,600 acres, was 85 percent contained, said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Steve Cookus.

``It's pretty well out,'' Cookus said. ``But we're working on the east flank to make sure the fire doesn't sweep back into the Santa Clarita Valley.''

However, the Simi Valley fire continues to threaten thousands of homes in Ventura County and the northwestern San Fernando Valley as well as the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library after jumping the Ronald Reagan Freeway early Monday morning.

Heather MacDonald, [phone]

heather.macdonald(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) A Piru woman clutching her puppy flees the advancing fire Monday. Firefighters set backfires to save the community.

(2 -- color) A hand-crew member cuts a firebreak with a shovel Monday in front of the fire near Piru.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer