Home › News › Fillmore
Unexplained patch of hot soil monitored
STORY TOOLS 
More from FillmoreFirefighters are monitoring a patch of land north of Fillmore where the ground climbed to 812 degrees on Friday for unknown reasons.
Possible theories include that natural hydrocarbons such as oil or gas are burning deep in the earth. But nobody knows for sure what might have ignited the materials.
"We are a little perplexed at this point, to tell you the truth," said David Panaro, a geologist with the Ventura County Watershed Protection, who was one of a few scientists called in to help solve the mystery. "This is not your usual geological detective story."
The area has recorded high heat at least five times since 1987, said Allen King, a retired geologist with the U.S. Forest Service, who also surveyed the scene where small streams of smoke wafted from cracks in the ground. The area is on land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and leased by an oil company.
On Friday, the Ventura County Fire Department cleared the brush near the fumes and cut a fire line around the area to ensure a fire didn't start from the heat.
King said it's possible the blaze was started by another fire on the ground and it ignited a second fire underground. It could be as deep as 100 feet, he said.
Such fires where there are high concentrations of hydrocarbons are not uncommon around the world, he said.
Posted by kosmoz13 on August 2, 2008 at 7:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember about three years ago there was a spontaneous fire that ignited in the Dick Smith wilderness area near SB. Back then i spoke to the geologist investigating that site and he said at the time it was from a landslide. That sediment from deeper in the earth had combined with sediment higher on the crust and something in the two soils caused the ignition of the fire.
Wonder when the last time there was volcanic activity in the area?
Posted by stopit on August 2, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Looks like the real estate market is heating up again!
Posted by Ventura22 on August 2, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Too bad we can't harness this energy somehow to help generate electricity if it is going to be an ongoing heat source. 800 degrees is a lot of heat to be used.
Posted by deepwater805 on August 2, 2008 at 10:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is probably an underground hydrocarbon fire. Not an unheard of event in an old oilfield. Kern County has several that have burned for many years. However, drilling into it is not an option at this point. Drilling fluids are made from water, and water boils at 212 degrees. What would happen if they drilled into something that was 800 plus degrees? It could result in an uncontainable kick. (blowout)If it is a hydrocarbon burn then there will be tail tale signs. Such as fumes, and gases. A full study needs to be done before a program can be made to deal with it.
Posted by trishfromcali on August 3, 2008 at 3:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Its a VOLCANO!!!!
Posted by surferdude on August 3, 2008 at 7:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Didn't the old geologist or civil engineer, Clarence Freeman say there was a giant slide zone up there?
Posted by Machine on August 4, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
global warming!! run for your lives.
Posted by del on August 4, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Freeman was a Civil Engineer of the 1st class. Anything he told you, you could take to the bank. That is why the greedy developers, city and county officials tried to paint him a looney.
Posted by janabanana71 on August 5, 2008 at noon (Suggest removal)
I have to say, this was one of the poorest put together articles I have read in a long time! The onset of the article never mentioned fire or fumes, only high temp soil. Then you get down to the middle and end of the article and it mentions not only fumes but also FIRE! Huh?!
Come on, Star! Get your facts in order! Make your articles clearer and easier to read.
Posted by lizlemon on August 5, 2008 at 4:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
For a good story on this piece of news, go to the LA times article at (including video and maps)
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-hot...
Posted by telcofolks on August 5, 2008 at 7:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
rn2003
Great link!
Posted by ParisHilton on August 6, 2008 at 9:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That's Hot!
Posted by heritagevalley on August 6, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The same type of hot spot that happened in the wilderness between SB and Ojai was not in a oilfield, so there appears to be other issues here.
They still don't have any solid info on what caused the first hotspot, which was also around 800 degrees.
Very Strange!
Posted by cventuraj on August 8, 2008 at 1:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Is it possible to take aerial photographs with an infrared camera and see if this leads to another "hot" area and then maybe that would help them come up with a possible explanation?
Posted by jill on August 10, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I've got a hot spot around my house, but it's explained. It's called menopause. I was nowhere near Fillmore!
Posted by stopit on August 10, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My dog has a unexplained hot spot on his rump.I'm monitoring it just in case it starts to smoke.
Posted by vcsexplorer11 on August 11, 2008 at 1:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Fillmore needs some hotspots because there is nothing to do in this town.
(Requires free registration.)
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.