Wendy Fire in Newbury Park Burned 91 Acres in Rancho Sierra Vista on October 10th

The “Wendy Fire” started at 7:11 p.m. on Thursday, October 10th in the Rancho Sierra Vista open space in Newbury Park, within the Santa Monica Mountains. The fire was seen quite clearly from Potrero Road, near the intersection of Wendy Drive.

It was a nerve wracking moment for local residents, as the flames were clearly visible and the Santa Ana winds were unpredictable. It was just six years ago that the Springs Fire burned near this area, down to PCH, and then back up towards the Conejo Valley when the winds shifted.

But our local fire responders, armed with a helicopter doing constant water drops and a bulldozer going up to and nearly into the flames to create a fireline, along with winds that were pushing towards the ocean, we managed to survive unscathed.

Thankfully, no structures were lost. We were quite concerned that the flames might impact the Satwiwa Native American Culture Center. The National Park Service announced on Friday that it was not impacted.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

It was last reported that the blaze was 91 acres.

The park and surrounding trails are expected to reopen on Sunday, October 13 at 6 a.m. Saturday events at this site have been cancelled.

The site will remain closed through Saturday, October 12th. The park and surrounding trails will reopen at 6am on Sunday, Odtober 13th.

Firefighter engines and personnel from Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Yosemite National Park, Redwood National Park, California State Parks, Ventura County Fire, Los Angeles County Fire, Los Angeles City Fire, Ventura City and Oxnard City and Ventura County Sheriffs (Thousand Oaks) assisted in fighting the fire.

Newbury Park High School Boys Cross Country Team Wins Woodbridge Classic in Record Time, Led by Record-Shattering Nico Young

Record-setting Newbury Park High School Boys Cross Country Team receiving post-race accolades.

I had the good fortune to witness first-hand last night’s record shattering performance by the Newbury Park High School Boys Cross Country Team at the 39th Annual Woodbridge Cross Country Classic at the Silverlakes Sports Complex in Corona.

Newbury Park, along with several other local area teams, was invited to participate in the Sweepstakes finale, featuring 32 top teams.

(Truth be told, I wouldn’t miss this event as I have a son that runs on this fantastic team!).

Nico’s Performance

Senior Nico Young obliterated the previous course record time of 13:58 with a time of 13:39.70, a time that MileSplit notes is the nation’s fastest high school 3 mile cross country effort of ALL TIME. Yes, you heard it right. He didn’t just break the record. He stomped all over it by over 15 seconds!

Nico is a certified rock star! I can certify that as I was witness to numerous fans requesting photos with this standout who also won the Woodbridge Invitational last year along with the California Division II cross country and 3200 meter track championships.

The Team’s Performance

The rest of the team last night included senior Jace Aschbrenner (2nd overall in 14:04.8), junior Nick Goldstein (7th in 14:25.6), sophomore Colin Sahlman (10th in 14:26.9), junior Daniel Appleford (24th in 14:36.7), freshman Lex Young (25th in 14:37.4) and junior Thomas McDonnell (33rd in 14:44.9). There were 240 participants in the race.

The top 5 scoring members of the team set a course record of 1:11:10.0, or an average of 14:14 per runner. This was not just the course record. It is the fastest high school 3 mile team time ever run on California soil!

This group of Newbury Park athletes has been training diligently all summer long for this season. And it shows. A second team of outstanding runners competed in the Rated race and finished in 4th place.

And let’s not forget the up and coming girls team, which competed in the 3 Mile Girls Sweepstakes event immediately preceding the boys event Saturday night. A fantastic showing by the girls resulted in 5th place, just 38 points away from the 1st place team. The top 5 scoring members of the girls team included junior Fiona Hawkins (18th overall in 16:53.7), senior Archana Mohandas (31st in 17:08.5), sophomore Sam McDonnell (35th in 17:12.3), freshman Ailish Hawkins (63rd in 17:39.8) and senior Gretchen Slattum (64th in 17:40.6).

Kudos to Coach Sean Brosnan, who is in his 4th year coaching at NPHS. He correctly predicted the strong team showing the day before the race in this runnerspace.com interview.

View fullsize

Record-setting Nico Young joyful immediately after the race with Coach Sean Brosnan.

Other local top 25 showings in the Sweepstakes races included Thousand Oaks High School senior Michael Mireles (4th place overall in 14:17.6) and Moorpark High School senior Keith Murray (23rd in 14:35.9). Junior Jill Walker from Simi Valley High School finished 13th overall in 16:49.6.

Rankings

On August 23rd, DyeStat/RunnerSpace published pre-season national high school cross country team rankings. Newbury Park was ranked 4th on this list, behind Great Oak, CA (#1), Corner Canyon, UT (#2) and Loudoun Valley, VA (#3).

Well guess what…Newbury Park beat the #1 ranked Great Oak last night by a score of 36 to 69. Great Oak is a fantastic program and last year’s winner at this event as well as reigning 2018 Division 1 state champions.

This could be interesting.

Cross Country Scoring

For those unfamiliar with how cross country scoring works, teams are allowed up to 7 runners in the race, but only the top 5 are included in the scoring. First place receives 1 point, 55th place receives 55 points, and so on. The fastest 5 runners on each team are added together for the score.

So no matter how fast an individual runs, for the team, what counts the most is the placing. The lowest possible point total is 1+2+3+4+5 for 15 points. Newbury Park scored 38 last night.

The Future

Aside from setting personal records, Nico and his team are focused on winning the California Division 2 state championship for the 2nd year in a row. Then they want to compete in the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) and win the national title. Newbury Park finished 6th in last year’s NXN in its first appearance at that invitation-only event.

Congratulations, team! For updates, visit www.newburyparkcrosscountry.com.

The Annual Appearance of Ground Bees at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa in Newbury Park

Every spring that I can remember, I’ve stopped in my tracks at some point by the annual appearance of ground bees in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa.

Hundreds and hundreds of bees, burrowing about in holes in the ground, these are male ground bees - looking for females to mate with and foraging for nectar. But the good news is that these male bees have no stingers. The females can sting, but will not generally do so unless provoked.

Most importantly, these bees are pollinators, which is a good thing. So just…let them BEE if you come across them.

I’ve personally seen these ground bees on the Lower Satwiwa Loop Trail, near the junction of the Satwiwa Loop Trail, on the north Satwiwa Loop Trail (the one that connects to the Satwiwa Native American Center) and on the Wendy-Satwiwa Connector Trail. See map at THIS LINK.

Rare Snow Experienced in the Conejo Valley on Thursday, February 21, 2019

A rare appearance of snow was enjoyed in many sections of the Conejo Valley yesterday, fed very cold temperatures and a storm that migrated here from Canada. There were reports of brief snow encounters by folks in Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Calabasas and other cities, including Malibu!

At my home, there was rain, there was sleet, and then there was snow. The snow appeared briefly before melting away.

Snow appeared on the mountain like magic, just a couple hours ago (facing Newbury Park, from Westlake Village) #socalsnow ❄️✨❄️✨ pic.twitter.com/MBVuYeWwyb

— Kristine Keller (@ScarletLark) February 22, 2019

According to the National Weather Services Forecast Office Los Angeles/Oxnard, “the last significant and widespread measurable snow in the Los Angeles and Ventura County valleys was on February 8, 1989, when up to five inches of snow fell in portions of the San Fernando Valley westward to Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley.”

It was a wonderful, memorable sight.

Clear View of Anacapa Island from Newbury Park this Final Friday of January 2019

The coast was clear tonight as we viewed several of the Channel Islands from the Rancho Potrero Open Space this final Friday of January 2019. Perhaps the coast IS clear now that the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history ended today, January 25th. Or perhaps not. We will monitor the situation from one of our many perches with a view here in the beautiful Conejo Valley.

The Newbury Park Branch Library Broke Ground in March 1990 and Opened Its Doors on January 19, 1991

For those of you who moved to the Conejo Valley over the last 10, 20, 25 years, you probably weren’t aware that the Newbury Park Branch Library, part of the Thousand Oaks Library system, was previously a Ralphs supermarket.

The ground breaking ceremony took place on March 31, 1990 at 2331 Borchard Road. The 31,000 sq ft facility cost $4 million.

Ground breaking of the Newbury Park Branch Library on March 31, 1990, including City of Thousand Oaks City Council members Alex Fiore and Larry Horner. (Photo Credit: Thousand Oaks Library Conejo Through the Lens collection.)

Stunning Orange Sunset the Night of Friday, December 14, 2018 from the Conejo Valley

‘Twas another beautiful evening in the Conejo Valley tonight, Friday, the 14th of December. Here are some shots of what the orange glowing sunset looked like from the Potrero Ridge Trail in Newbury Park.