Mussel Shoals residents react to platform fire

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) The early morning Platform Habitat fire and evacuation took place about 7.5 miles off Mussel Shoals in Ventura County.

It's an area known for the Oil Pier surf spot and The Cliff House Inn.

 Robert Brunner lives a few doors down.

Brunner, who fought to make the 101 exit safe, is considered the honorary mayor.

Brunner was on the beach in front of his home on Monday morning, but said he couldn't see the platform due to thick fog.

A emergency response command center was set up miles away at DCOR, on the sixth floor of a building near The Collection shopping area, in Oxnard.

The offshore oil energy company is named after the large Dos Cuadras Offshore Oil Field.

DCOR personnel chose not to comment on the fire, but offered a U.S. Coast Guard response handout.

The Coast Guard said the platform produces natural gas, not oil, and is in the process of being decommissioned.

More than two dozen workers were evacuated. Two were treated for scrapes, but no one went to the hospital.

There are no reports of impacts to the public or marine life.

Mussell Shoals resident Reece Ballard said he heard about what happened from his parents.

He was surprised to see a Coast Guard photo that showed a boat spraying water on the platform.

Ballard said on a clear day it is easy to see the platform in day and night.

It appears the weather conditions helped keep things cool during the emergency.