Although some residents have been tempered in their remarks about the suspects, others said they won't close ranks: “Oh, you know how Ojai people are,” said one woman who asked not to be identified. “Since it looks like it might be a ‘one of us’ situation, some people are already bending over backwards to be understanding. If the suspects were two kids from Oxnard or Santa Paula all hell would be breaking lose and a cry for blood. The attitudes of some people are sickening. . .”The Santa Paula Times, based on residents' comments, ran a story in the Dec. 24th edition noting blame for the fire was being placed on a young boy. “When I first heard the rumor that it was a kid I figured anyone that would light fireworks in a wind gale would have to be a kid, a real young kid, like seven years old,” said one male resident. “These kids are no kids. . .”The cost to fight the fire is close to $5 million; over 200 people were evacuated from their homes with about 35 not allowed to return until the next day. Highway 150 between Santa Paula and Fillmore was closed for two days while the fire raged.
Fireworks confirmed as cause of Ojai Ranch Fire, suspects identified
January 05, 2000
Santa Paula News
The raging wildfire that broke out scant days before Christmas that destroyed one Sisar Road home, damaged another and burned over 4,300 acres allegedly was caused by two teenagers playing with fireworks while wind gusts of up to 70 mph buffeted Upper Ojai.
The Ojai Ranch Fire broke out shortly before 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 21, but it wasn't until the following Monday that a Ventura County Fire Department official confirmed the news - first printed in the Santa Paula Times on Dec. 24 - that fireworks had started the blaze.One of the suspects is 18-year-old John Barrett, the son of Ventura County Sheriff's Department Captain James Barrett, the “police chief” of the VCSD Ojai sub-station. His friend, also 18 and like Barrett a resident of the Upper Ojai area where the fire started, is Brett Schwermer, also named as a suspect.Neither Barrett or Schwermer have been arrested and reportedly each has accused the other of starting the fire while attempting to blow-up a mailbox with illegal fireworks.The teenagers have not been officially named as suspects but are being targeted in the investigation, which itself is causing some controversy due to Barrett's father's position with the VCSD. A VCSD spokesman said the Ventura County Fire Department is the lead agency on the investigation circumventing a conflict of interest.The fire broke out in the Koenigstein Road area, plagued recently by fireworks vandalism to mailboxes, said an angry resident.
