Police and Fire: A woman with a handgun robbed a Ventura convenience store early this morning, police said.

The robbery occurred about 1:30 a.m. at the 7-Eleven at 6320 Bristol Road.

A young, heavyset woman entered the store, pointed a handgun at the clerk and demanded money, Ventura police said in a prepared statement.

The clerk handed over an undisclosed amount of cash and the robber left the store on foot.

The clerk was not injured.

Female robbery suspects are very uncommon, but not unheard-of, said Lt. Quinn Fenwick of the Ventura Police Department.

Anyone with information about the crime is encouraged to phone Ventura police detectives at 339-4394 or make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 494-TALK.

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Sheriff's deputies this morning are looking for a Newbury Park man suspected of firing a gun recklessly in his back yard Thursday, authorities said.

About 5:45 p.m. Thursday the Sheriff's Department received several reports of a man firing a rifle or shotgun in his back yard on the 600 block of Wendy Drive in Newbury Park, said Capt. Ross Bonfiglio.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene and a department helicopter flew overhead, but the man had already left in a car by the time they arrived, Bonfiglio said.

The man, whose name was withheld because of an ongoing investigation, allegedly made a verbal threat against a neighbor who confronted him, the captain said.

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About 10:36 p.m. a Thousand Oaks man struck a utility pole with his car on the 1500 block of Avenida de los Arboles in Thousand Oaks, said Capt. Ross Bonfiglio.

The man suffered minor injuries and was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit and run, Bonfiglio said.

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Traffic: The California Highway Patrol this morning was advising motorists to watch out for two injured animals on county roadways.

At 7:03, an injured deer was reported on Santa Susana Pass Road at Box Canyon Road near Simi Valley. At 6:46 a.m., an injured coyote was reported on Highway 101 southbound at Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard.

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Earlier, a downed tree was blocking lanes of Jenny Drive just south of Lesser Drive in Newbury Park, according to the CHP.

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The section of Highway 33 between Wheeler Gorge north of Ojai and Ventucopa in the Los Padres National Forest remains closed today to all traffic except local residents, the U.S. Forest Service reported.

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Weather: Mostly sunny conditions are expected today after low clouds and fog this morning, the National Weather Service reported.

High temperatures around 80 at the coast and into the lower 90s inland are predicted.