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 clouds of smoke into the neighborhood.
Ventura County firefighters were dispatched at 9:30 a.m. and determined that the Volvo XC90's battery was in a state of thermal runaway, a chemical chain reaction that causes the temperature to rise uncontrollably, fire engineer Andrew Dowd said. .
Instead of attempting to extinguish the fire, they placed protective equipment in the surrounding neighborhood to monitor it as it burned.
“It's a chemical reaction, not a thermal reaction,” Dowd said. “At that point, the batteries will continue to burn and burn despite pouring water into them. “Our current and most effective firefighting strategy is to protect the health and safety of first responders and citizens.”
Residents downwind were ordered to evacuate and those downwind were ordered to stay in place.
By 1:30 p.m., the smoke had subsided and the orders were downgraded to warnings, Dowd said.
However, the scene remained active because infrared-equipped drones were still detecting significant residual heat in the vehicle.
Once the danger has passed, the vehicle will be towed, he said.
