The anomaly was discovered after the land got so hot that it started a brush fire and burned three acres last month.
Firefighters were brought to the scene after reports of a blaze, but by the time they arrived only smoldering dirt and brush remained.
Firefighters took no chances with the smoking ground, clearing brush near the fumes and cutting a fire line around the area to prevent a blaze from igniting.
"We are a little perplexed at this point, to tell you the truth," the Ventura County Star quoted geologist David Panaro as saying. "This is not your usual geological detective story."
The area has recorded high temperatures at least five times since 1987, Allen King, a retired geologist with the U.S. Forest Service told the newspaper.
The hot spot is located in steep, rugged terrain a few miles north of the town of Fillmore on land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and leased by Seneca Resources Corp.
Officials who are familiar with the patch of land, which is near the large Sespe Oil Field, have come up with a few theories as to why the ground soared to 812 degrees fahrenheit on August 1.
One theory is that natural hydrocarbons, such as oil or gas, are burning deep in the earth and seeping out through cracks in the area, causing the surface to rapidly heat and generate smoke.
According to the Star, Allen King, a former geologist with the U.S. Forest Service recently stuck a thermometer into the ground and got a reading of 550 degrees — so hot that it melted the glue holding the sole of his boots together.
"After that we were more cautious about standing in one place for too long," he said.
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- joshzimmerman
- added this
- added August 06, 2008
- flag
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HOLY CRAP.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, thats perfect bbq season
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Hmm...Ventura County...800 degrees...its gotta be a hell mouth.
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- Scott_Bromley
- 5 months ago
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Glad I'm not there!
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- shroomfairy
- 5 months ago
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..........fox news
I'm not sure if I believe anything coming out of Faux News anymore. Can we get another source?
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....and the Bush administration still says - Let's beat everyone else in carbon emissions! Let's increase global warming! It's probably not even real! ... that's crazy. Movements like "Convergence for Climate 08" are becoming even more important when we hear about stories like this. It's time for us to all unite together and demand environmental change. We have got to start utilizing safe, sustainable practices if we don't want the ENTIRE country to become like this 'anomaly.'
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- whocontrolstheworld
- 5 months ago
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say WHAAAAT? how the hell did people not die. At least now we know why spontanious combustion happens.
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- huffamoose2k
- 5 months ago
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I know what caused it... An alien with a magnifying glass. The ants wanted vengeance so they phoned up E.T. to give us a taste of our own medicine.
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You can grow great weed there, I hope nobody lives there.
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WTF!!!!
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- negrete_ink
- 5 months ago
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Clearly a transluscent flying saucer flew over this area at the same exact time as a solar flare lept over to earth creating a temporary magnification of photons, which inturn produced the heat that was recorded.
Your Government
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- good_stuff
- 5 months ago
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To quote Paris Hilton "That's hot!"
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- damnneargenius
- 5 months ago
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For some reason that reminds me of the movie "Volcano" especially the part about the ground getting so hot it melted the boots.
Have they checked the area for any signs of magma or geological instability that would let a fissure of lava get up to there?
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Thats intersesting...
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If this is caused by hydrocarbons in the earth's surface, then is it possible that this will happen again somewhere else?
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Haha! California officially takes the record for hottest place on earth. Take that India!
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- Dmitri_Molotov
- 5 months ago
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wait a minue......it reached that hig hand all it did was melt the glue? dont you think it the rubber would melt and for sure the fabric would catch fire.....i dunno if i buy this.
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- SilenceNoMore
- 5 months ago
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Anyone else notice this, that the company that's leasing the land from the govt. is in energy?
Seneca Resources Corporation was formed in February of 1976, as a successor to the former Mars Corporation. In July 1994, the oil and gas properties of the National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation and Empire Exploration were merged into Seneca Resources in order to centralize all the company’s oil and gas operations into one company.
Seneca Resources explores for, develops and purchases natural gas and
oil reserves in the Gulf Coast Region of Texas and Louisiana, the
Appalachian Region, the Southwest, and California.Seneca Resources is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and is a subsidiary of National Fuel Gas Company based in Williamsville, New York.
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wow this isnt far from me at all i live in ventura county!!
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Wat? I live in in Ventura County and saw that fire this piece is referring too. It gets hott here but not 812 friggin degrees!
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Thank you Kynmore for the info on Seneca! I was wondering what they were since the land is owned by U.S. Bureau of Land Management and leased by Seneca Resources Corp.
There have been an increased number of earthquakes in the southern california region...
Could this be the start of a volcanic crater formation? The continental plates move alot in that area and maybe opened up a very deep fissure...and now is going to start forming a volcano?
Interesting story!
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- Cherish_Liberty4_All
- 5 months ago
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One more reason to fear waking up in the morning...
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I think that this whole end-of-the world thing has to wait until i get me some popcorn.
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Ventura, AKA "The Devils Butthole"
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That definitely sounds like a volcano and also helps explain a lot of the seismic activity of late in LA with that 6.0 mag and the others along the Sierra Mountains from Reno and Tahoe. As well as the waters coming off Mammoth Mountain being reported as having a heavy sulfur smell and dead fish washing up on the banks of these rivers over the last year.
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HAARP?!
