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Firefighters Thursday evening were battling a brush fire in the bed of the Ventura River that’s grown to 17 acres, and crews were working overnight to prevent the blaze from spreading into nearby oilfields.

As of 9 p.m., the fire was about 35% contained.

The fire began just before 4 p.m. in the 5300 block of Ventura Avenue in Ventura, said county Fire Department spokesman Capt. Mike Lindbery.

The river bottom is typically occupied by a sizable homeless population, many of whom have been displaced by the fire.

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