Firefighters have contained 10 percent of the wildfire.
The first signs of the fire came as smoke began
blanketing the sky to the west and south, giving the air in parts of the Valley
an orange tinge.
Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and
have spoken to witnesses, but they are seeking information about a tan or gold
Chevy van last seen on Sierra Madre Road on the afternoon of Aug. 8. Anyone in
the general area at the time or anyone who has information about the origin of
the fire is asked to call (805) 686-5074.
As of press time, the fire had not caused any property
damage. One firefighter was treated for a hernia and another suffered dehydration.
Both have returned to duty, according to fire information officer Joe Pasinato of the U.S. Forest Service.
More than 1,000 firefighters are battling the blaze,
which continues to burn out of control within the San Rafael Wilderness of the
Los Padres National Forest, making the U.S. Forest Service the lead agency for
response to the fire and information about the fire. Other crews have come from
multiple agencies, including the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the
Ventura County Fire Department, CAL Fire, the Sheriff’s Department, the
National Park Service, Vandenberg Air Force Base and the Bureau of Land
Management.
The fire force includes 39 engines, 49 hand crews, 19
bulldozers, 10 helicopters and several fixed wing aircraft.
Wind gusts topping 50 mph pushed flames to the west
toward Treplett Mountain Tuesday night, fire
officials said, and also spread the fire to the east toward Cuyama
Valley.
But good progress was made on the north side of the fire
along Sierra Madre Ridge.
The fire has not entered the Sisquoc
River area.
Authorities are urging the public to seek an alternate
route to Highway 166 because of congestion, and to use extra caution when
traveling the highway.
On Wednesday, firefighters secured fire line around the
slop-over above Cuyama Valley, opening and
reinforcing more lines on the west side of the fire, and building others along
the eastern flank above Horse Canyon.
Firefighters are using three heliports for air support.
The fire is being fed by heavy, 6-foot-tall chaparral in
a rugged area about 10 miles east of Tepusquet Peak
and six miles south of Highway 166. The difficult terrain, which hasn’t burned
since 1922, and the moderate-to-rapid rates of spread are making the fire
particularly difficult to fight.
For a map of the burn area, visit
inciweb.org/incident/1803.
“During the beginning stages of the fire, the only tools
we had were from the air,” Pasinato said. “It was
deep within the forest and was not safe to put firefighters on the ground.
There were no anchor or escape points on the ground.”
Because of such obstacles, air tankers and helicopters
were the county’s primary weapons, dropping fire retardant and water on the
flames. Fire crews brought in the Martin Mars air tanker, which holds 7,200
gallons of water and has 22 drop doors, to help with the fire fight. The
converted U.S. Navy bomber is among the largest air tankers.
Firefighters have also struggled with hot weather, low
relative humidity and erratic winds. Pasinato said
Tuesday night’s wind gusts were helpful, blowing the fire back upon itself in
the northeast flank of the fire where flames had begun crawling over Sierra
Madre Ridge.
The steep and inaccessible terrain prevented firefighters
from working on fire lines — cleared land that checks the spread of the fire —
until Monday. Crews have been camping out at safe locations near the fire line
to reduce travel time.
An evacuation warning was ramped up to a mandatory order
on Tuesday for 14 occupied ranches in the area. The area is bounded by bounded
by Cottonwood Road and Wasioja Road, between Highway
166 and Sierra Madre Road. Fire officials contacted the ranchers Monday
night. There was no imminent threat but
ranchers are voluntarily moving their horses and other livestock. Fire
officials said the area is very lightly populated.
The county has sent two “strike teams” consisting of 10
engines to help protect the structures.
“Crews do a walk around ahead of the fire so we can do
structure assessments,” said Capt. David Sadecki with
the county Fire Department. “If firefighters have to spend one of their shifts
in the driveway, that’s OK. We just want to be ready.” The American Red Cross
moved its temporary shelter to Cuyama Valley High
School, 4500 Highway 166 in New Cuyama.
Large livestock are being evacuated to the Santa Maria Fairpark at 937 S. Thornburg St., while smaller animals
will be housed at the county Animal Shelter at 548 W. Foster Road.
Authorities have also closed nearly 111 square miles of
the Los Padre National Forest. The order prohibits public entry to all national
forest lands, trails, roads and recreation sites within the area. Smoke plumes,
which are visible from the South Coast, prompted health officials on Monday to
issue an advisory that is urging residents, especially older adults, children,
and those with heart or lung disease, to limit their time spent outdoors and
avoid outdoor exercise if ash or smoke becomes heavy.
This county has seen more than its share of fires in the
last two years. The La Brea Fire is located north of the 2007 Zaca Fire burn area, which burned more than 240,000 acres.
That fire ignited on July 4, 2007. Firefighters are using existing fire lines
from that fire along the Triplet Fuelbreak, and Peach
Tree and Sierra Madre Ridges to assist in the current efforts.
About a year later, the Gap Fire started in the mountains
above Goleta and burned 8,800 acres. Then in November of last year, the
2,000-acre Tea Fire sparked in the Montecito foothills and razed 230 homes.
That was followed by May’s Jesusita Fire, which
ignited above San Roque, destroyed 77 homes and
caused the evacuation of more than 30,000 residents.
County spokesman William Boyer urged residents to get Los
Padres National Forest updates by calling (805) 961-5770. Information also is
available on the county Fire Department’s information line at (805) 681-5546.
Reach Jeremy Foster at
jfoster@syvjournal.com.