Fire in the Ojai Valley
Compiled by the Ojai Valley Museum from U.S. Forest Service fire records, contemporary newspaper accounts — including Drew Mashburn's 'Major Ojai Fires' (ojaihistory.com, Nov. 2018) — and the museum's 2018 exhibit 'Trial by Fire: Ojai Ablaze 1917–2017.' Exhibit background drawn from Wendy Barker's companion piece for Ojai Hub (Nov. 2018).Fire has shaped the Ojai Valley since long before it had that name. The Chumash used controlled burns to manage the landscape; in the American era, sheepherders, farmers, campers, and the occasional lightning strike sent flames through the surrounding mountains again and again. Since 1910, the U.S. Forest Service has kept formal records of fires in Los Padres National Forest, where most of the valley's major blazes have originated.
The Ojai Valley Museum itself carries this history in its walls: the building occupies the former St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic church, whose original structure burned in the 1917 fire. In November 2018, at the one-year mark after the Thomas Fire, the museum opened an exhibit, "Trial by Fire: Ojai Ablaze 1917–2017," using that fire as a lens onto the valley's longer relationship with flame — featuring places that loomed large in that history, among them the Amestoy house, Besant Hill School of Happy Valley, and Matilija Canyon, along with the community's response and recovery. Images throughout were sourced from community members, and a companion book, From the Fire: Ojai Reflects on the Thomas Fire, was released alongside it.
1917 — Two fires, one bad year. On June 16, campers in Matilija Canyon started a fire that burned for five days, scorched more than 30,000 acres, killed five people, and destroyed 60 buildings and homes, including the Foothills Hotel and two churches. Then on November 28, a gasoline stove exploded and burned the west half of the Arcade — though hardware merchant Glen Hickey left his store open so people could grab tools to fight it, and later found more money in the till than he'd left there. The following year, Edward Libbey donated the town's first fire truck.
1932 — The Matilija Fire. First spotted September 7 from Sulphur Mountain, this fire burned 219,000 acres over 11 days. The Reyes Peak lookout was consumed by the flames; the lookout man barely escaped. The cause was never determined.
1948 — The Wheeler Springs Fire. A burst butane pipe at Wheeler Hot Springs sparked a blaze that burned 30,000 acres on September 12. Thirteen homes were lost, though firefighters managed to save the resort itself.
1985 — The Wheeler Fire. An arsonist is blamed for this July 1 fire, which started near Wheeler Hot Springs and burned for 15 days across 120,000 acres — destroying 12 homes, injuring more than 50 firefighters, and badly damaging the valley's citrus industry. A boulder with a bronze plaque honoring the firefighters still stands at the Y intersection.
1999 — The Ranch Fire. Illegal fireworks, set off by two 18-year-olds on Koenigstein Road in Upper Ojai, caused a fast-moving fire that consumed 4,300 acres and one home on December 21.
2002 — The Wolf Fire. Started June 1 near the Wolf Grill on Highway 33 when people shot at an abandoned van, this fire burned for two weeks, covering more than 21,000 acres and destroying six structures.
2006 — The Day Fire. The largest fire of that season, started September 4 by an illegal debris burn in the Sespe Wilderness. It burned until October 13, covering 162,000 acres and destroying 11 structures.
2015–2021 — Smaller but notable. The Chorro Fire (Aug. 2015, 282 acres), the Pine Fire (June–July 2016, 2,300 acres), the Vista Fire (Oct. 2017, 87 acres), and the Casitas Fire (June 2021, 188 acres) round out the past decade's record.
2017–2018 — The Thomas Fire. Starting December 4 north of Santa Paula from downed power lines, the Thomas Fire became the ninth-largest wildfire in modern California history, burning until January 12, 2018. It blackened nearly 282,000 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, at one point completely surrounding the Ojai Valley, destroyed 1,063 buildings, and caused two deaths and $2.2 billion in damage.
"Fire by Trial: Four Fires that Almost Destroyed Ojai" (Feb. 11, 2018 Town Talk hosted by Mark Lewis)
Community response, on video.
The museum's Town Talks series — moderated conversations filmed at the museum — running alongside the "Trial by Fire" exhibit.ALSO:
"The Fire Next Time" brought together Elizabeth Rose (co-author of From the Fire, moderating) with a panel spanning fire preparedness and response: Ed Bennett (The Thacher School), William D. Castagna (Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council), James Fryhoff (Ojai Police Chief), Connor Jones (East End Eden/Ojai Permaculture), John McNeil (Ventura County Fire Department), Ray Powers (Ojai Planning Commission), and Charlie Whitman (wildland fuel management). Available on our Town Talks page.
For more info:
