Residents of several dozen homes in Ojai were briefly ordered to evacuate or shelter in place Saturday morning after a hybrid electric vehicle caught fire, sending billowing smoke toward the neighborhood.
Ventura County firefighters were dispatched at 9:30 a.m. and determined the battery of the Volvo XC90 was in a state of thermal runaway, a chemical chain reaction that causes the temperature to rise uncontrollably, said fire engineer Andrew Dowd.
Rather than try to extinguish the fire, they positioned equipment to protect the surrounding neighborhood to monitor it while it burned itself out.
“It’s a chemical reaction, not a thermal reaction,” Dowd said. “At that point, the batteries will continue to burn and burn despite putting water on them. Our current and most effective firefighting strategy is to protect health and safety of responders and citizens.”
Residents upwind of the fire were ordered to evacuate and those downwind to stay in place.
By 1:30 p.m., the smoke had diminished, and the orders were downgraded to warnings, Dowd said.
The scene remained active, however, because drones equipped with infrared were still detecting significant residual heat in the vehicle.
Once the danger has passed, the vehicle will be towed, he said.
