CREWS TO CLEAN UP WILDFIRE-PRONE AREAS.

Byline: Kermit Pattison Daily News Staff Writer

Fueled by a federal grant to recover from the 1993 wildfires, Ventura County plans to clear flammable brush in fire-prone parts of Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Camarillo and Ojai.

"We don't try to denude the property so it looks like agent orange went through," said Ventura County Fire Chief Jim Sewell. "But if we can slow the fire down, that's what we like to do."

Under a plan approved by Ventura County Supervisors Tuesday the department has targeted several areas historically prone to wildfires because of terrain and weather patterns, Sewell said. Many of the areas lie on steep terrain that would handicap firefighters trying to fight a wildfire, he said.

Hand crews from the County Fire Department, California Department of Forestry and California Conservation Corps will clear brush with with tractors and hand tools to create a break in the fuel source of wildfires, officials said.

The county recently won a grant of more than $186,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, enough to pay for about three quarters of the project. The grant was tied to reducing fire hazards in response to the 1993 wildfires which charred four corners of Ventura County.

The county probably would not be able to clear the dangerous brush without the federal aid, Sewell said.

"We don't have that kind of change lying around," Sewell said.

The areas in which the fire department plans to clear fire breaks or partially thin out brush include:

Wildwood Park, Potrero Road and state and national park lands in Thousand Oaks.

The Simi Valley bridle path.

Camarillo Heights.

Shelf Road, Fairview Road, Foothill Road in Ojai and Sisar Road in Upper Ojai.

On Tuesday the board of supervisors approved the fire department's plans to create a demonstration garden to show residents how to cultivate fire-resistant plants.

Sewell said the project at fire station 52 in 5353 Santa Rosa Road. in Camarillo - plus an existing garden in Thousand Oaks - will be used to show school children, residents, civic groups and nurseries that fire-resistant plants can become an attractive part of the home landscape.

The fire department already has planted one such garden at fire station 30 in Thousand Oaks. Within a few months, firefighters at the station at 235 W. Hillcrest Drive hope to give residents tours of blooming trailing African daisies, ice plants and dwarf coyote bushes.

"It doesn't need much water," said Fire Capt. Loyd Wood, who works at station 30. "You don't have to spend much time taking care of it. . . . It also can keep your shake shingle roofs from catching on fire."

But Wood said the garden already has run into one problem - varmints.

In fact, he said the station was forced to install fencing and an electronic beeper to keep furry intruders from munching on the displays.

"In the first planting, the rabbits came and ate all the new plants," he said.