Ojai safe from Zaca Wildland Fire, Zaca officials say

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Fire officials are confident the Zaca fire no longer poses a direct threat to Ojai.

The fire had reached within 17 miles of the town on Monday.

Firefighters kept the massive blaze from heading east and south through round-the-clock hard work, using bulldozers and hand crews to remove brush and other flammable material from the fire's path, said Capt. Barry Parker, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

This morning, officials disbanded a command center set up at the VVentura County Fairgrounds. It was established earlier this week to coordinate efforts should the fire have gone toward Ojai.

Though much progress has been made along the fire's eastern and southern flanks, Ventura County residents should expect to see a lot of smoke over the coming weeks, Parker said.

The fire's northern flank is still a problem and is expected to generate huge plumes of smoke at least through the beginning of September, he said.

Officials hope to have the fire fully contained by Sept. 7. But they caution that could change should there be hotter weather and more winds in the days to come.