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# Santa Monica firefighters join regional strike team against Box Canyon blaze
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/fabian-lewkowicz-daily-press-evidence-of-the-raging-fires-along-the-los-angeles-ventura-county-line-was-evident-yesterday-throughout-santa-monica-smfd/
- Published: 2005-09-30T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:50:12.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Area residents are urged to check air quality*

BOX CANYON — Santa Monica firefighters were deployed here on Wednesday as part of a regional effort to hold off a blaze that’s burned thousands of acres and filled the air with unhealthy levels of smoke.

Santa Monica Fire Battalion Chief Kent Cobel said nine local firefighters responded at 3 p.m. on Wednesday to help stave off a wildfire which began in Chatsworth. As of Thursday, the fire had burned at least 17,000 acres and consumed one home as it swept across miles of ridges along the line dividing Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The SMFD led a local strike team as part of a regional emergency response effort to fight the blaze. The regional group, led by SMFD Battalion Chief Carl Bjerke, consisted of five engines staffed with four firefighters each. Santa Monica Fire engines No. 2 and 3 responded from Station No. 1, located at 1444 Seventh St. Also responding were two engines from Beverly Hills and one from Culver City.

Bjerke drove a Chevy Suburban and led the strike team to Box Canyon, where the group was assigned “structural protection,” Cobel said, securing homes and other buildings that may have been in the fire’s path.

“The typical strategy is to set up strike teams so if the fire reaches those structures we can fight it,” Cobel said. “They were put ahead of the fire should it head in that direction.”

Santa Monica’s strike team was part of a larger command under the direction of the Los Angeles and Ventura county fire departments, as well as the National Park Service. As of Thursday, more than 3,000 firefighters had been deployed. The blaze was 5 percent contained, with more than 2,000 buildings saved, according to county officials.

One home and an attached garage have been destroyed.

Three separate fires are believed to have broken out in the same vicinity at approximately 2 p.m. on Wednesday, according to county officials. Investigators have not determined how the fires were caused, but arson is a possibility, they said.

The Santa Monica strike team helped secure Box Canyon. They spent the night there on Wednesday and at 8 a.m. on Thursday were re-assigned to conduct further structure protection in the Las Virgines area.

Cobel said the Santa Monica strike team will be utilized until the fire is sufficiently contained and county emergency officials determine it’s time to scale back resources. In the meantime, firefighters typically enjoying their days off have replaced those already sent to fight the blaze, he said.

CLEAN AIR: DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH The Southern Air Quality Management District, a government body which oversees environmental issues, advised people in Santa Monica and surrounding areas that air quality was unhealthy on Thursday due to the considerable amount of smoke.

> “People should avoid exercising vigorously outdoors for more than an hour.”

Sam Atwood, SAQMD spokesman, said that because of the unhealthy air quality, people should minimize outdoor activity.

“We’re going to have an onshore flow of smoke and soot later on today which could bring some of this air pollution down into the West LA area,” Atwood said.

Atwood said sensitivity to the air pollution would vary from person to person, but those with heart and lung conditions should be cautious.

According to Atwood, the SAQMD wouldn’t comment on what the air quality will be like on Friday or over the weekend. He said the air quality may change daily depending on the vigor of the fire. To receive the most recent air quality reports, he suggested visiting the SAQMD’s Web site — www.aqmd.gov — today at noon, when it’s updated.

FIRE PREPAREDNESS Tony Morris, a Topanga resident and emergency-preparedness advocate, said the fire was within eight miles of his home on Thursday.

“I’m watching it closely,” Morris said. “The fire is definitely not contained and anything can happen.”

Morris helps spearhead a nonprofit organization called the Wildfire Research Network, a group of concerned citizens interested in minimizing the impact of wildfires.

One of the WRN’s goals is to help create a fire research center which would help coordinate firefighting efforts in the Western United States — an umbrella organization that would help firefighting research and efforts at the local, state and national levels.

The WRN also supports better firefighting initiatives and technology at local levels. Due to the encouragement of the WRN and other emergency groups, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky recently helped coordinate the creation of an emergency survival guide book designed for outlying areas.

“The guide is focused on fire, floods, earthquakes and is a model of emergency preparedness which will really set the tone for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles,” said Ben Saltsman, a field deputy director for Yaroslavsky’s office.

Saltsman said not only are Topanga residents active about emergency preparedness issues, they also live in an area very susceptible to several forms of natural disaster, so it made sense to develop a prototype plan for that portion of the county.

The guide also will be sent to other unincorporated areas, Saltsman said. Two copies are being mailed to every home in Topanga. The information will soon be available on the Web site www.topangasurvival.org.

“This fire is exactly the kind of reason people need to be prepared,” Morris said.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/093005-01_01.jpg)

Evidence of the raging fires along the Los Angeles-Ventura county line was evident yesterday throughout Santa Monica. (Photo: Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 30, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/093005.pdf?ref=smdp.com)