Here is a look at recent incidents and announcements from agencies in Ventura County.
People get out, but cats die in house fire in Ventura
Late last week, a house fire broke out in the attic of an east Ventura home, killing four of the five cats found at the scene.
The people living inside escaped the fire without injury on Saturday around 5 p.m., according to a news release from the Ventura Fire Department.
Firefighters found a full-blown fire in the attic when they arrived at the single-family home in the 700 block of Olympia Avenue, the news release said. The address is in a residential area west of Petit Avenue and east of Kimball Road.
The fire was declared under control within 40 minutes. The cause is still under investigation.
The residents were able to leave the home before the fire brigade arrived. There were no injuries to them or to the fire brigade.
About three dozen fire personnel responded to the emergency, officials said. They came from the Ventura Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department and Oxnard Fire Department.
Surfer who died after Samaritan rescue identified
The surfer who was pulled unconscious from the water by a passerby on an Oxnard beach late last week and later died has been named.
He was identified Monday by the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office as Shawn Faye, 55, of Ventura. The cause of death turned out to be a cervical vertebra fracture with fatal drowning.
The death was ruled an accident by the agency.
The incident was reported shortly before 10:20 a.m. on September 26 near Mandalay Beach Road and Seabreeze Way, in the Oxnard Shores area.
Authorities said a woman walking in the area pulled the surfer out of the water when she noticed he was face down in the ocean. Life-saving measures were administered and he was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Simi Valley motorcyclist killed in crash called
Authorities have identified the motorcyclist killed in a crash on South Mountain Road east of Santa Paula Sunday morning.
James Takakura, 61, of Simi Valley, died of multiple blunt force injuries in the crash, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The California Highway Patrol said Sunday that Takakura was riding a 2009 Suzuki motorcycle west on South Mountain Road around 10 a.m. when he crossed the double yellow lines and struck the front of a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was traveling east on South Mountain Road.
The 33-year-old Ventura woman driving the Jeep was uninjured and remained at the scene, the CHP said. A portion of South Mountain Road running east of Balcom Canyon Road was then closed for nearly three hours. Alcohol or drugs are not suspected to have played a role in the accident.
Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call the CHP Ventura Area office and speak to an investigator at 805-662-2640.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Cats die in Ventura fire; surfer and motorcyclist
