Two brush fires in Simi Valley area 100% contained

First fire begins off Kuehner Drive; second blaze starts on Woolsey Canyon Road

Staff reports

Two brush fires that emerged Tuesday in Simi Valley were completely contained later that day, Ventura County fire officials said.

Both fires were small in size and 100% contained by 6:30 p.m. but kept firefighters busy for several hours. 

The first fire, dubbed the Kuehner Incident, was reported at 2:48 p.m. near the Kuehner Drive exit in Simi Valley, fire officials said. It burned about 19.5 acres. Hand crews continued mop-up work Wednesday morning. 

The second fire was reported about 4 p.m. in the 5800 block of Woolsey Canyon Road, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. It grew to about 1.2 acres, said Engineer Mike Des Forges, a spokesman for the department.

By 5 p.m., crews from Ventura and Los Angeles counties plus the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention and the city of Los Angeles had stopped the fire from growing any further. The fire was completely put out later in the day, said Des Forges.

The fire in Woolsey Canyon was met with a swift response due to helicopters and other resources already in the area. They were promptly sent there from the fire that broke out off eastbound Highway 118. 

That first incident, the Kuehner Incident, caused the California Highway Patrol to block lanes on the highway from the exit to the Yosemite Avenue off-ramp. The Simi Hills Golf Course was used briefly as firefighters fought nearby. By 4:30 p.m. the blaze had been stopped from growing.  

No injuries were reported in either fire response and the cause of both blazes was under investigation.