Shit happens, but that's cold comfort to 300 firefighters now battling a 6,000-acre blaze that the L.A. Times reports began when manure at a ranch near Fillmore spontaneously combusted this morning. Strong winds and searing heat have combined to fan the flames at a frightening velocity. The fire, which has forced 400 residents to evacuate the parched, rolling hills outside Moorpark, located just above the 118 Freeway.

The Ventura County Star reports that while no structures have been damaged so far, heavy smoke and falling ash have been widely reported throughout Ventura County and local law enforcement authorities have closed the following roads: “Grimes Canyon North at Bardsdale; Broadway at West Grimes; Walnut Canyon at Broadway and Happy Camp; Sheckell Road north of Broadway and Guiberson Road at Grimes Canyon.”

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