Fire Burns 700 Acres; Zaca Lake Guests Evacuated
Wednesday, July 04 2007
The fire grew to 700 acres by 8:30 p.m., with a total three firefighters treated for heat exhaustion. Authorities traced the potential cause to a suspected welding or metal grinding operation.
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Aggressive flames devoured brush and trees along steep terrain as authorities staged their attack at the gate to the Zaca Lake resort.
A fire scorched Santa Barbara County wildland north of Los Olivos Wednesday — amid hot, dry conditions and July 4 celebrations.
The Zaca Fire began around 10:30 a.m. and quickly consumed an estimated 500-plus acres of Bell Canyon near Zaca Lake off Foxen Canyon Road. By 8:30 p.m., the blaze grew to 700 acres and drew some 200-plus firefighters from across the region. Hundreds more were expected, according to Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Eli Iskow, a department spokesman.
"We'll be on this fire for days," he said around 2 p.m. as a thick plume of gray smoke billowed in the distance. "It's very hot. It's difficult to reach."
Aggressive flames devoured brush and trees along steep terrain as authorities staged their attack at the gate to the Zaca Lake resort. Officials said 15 guests were evacuated as a precaution from cabins at the lake located about two miles southeast of the flames, while about a dozen staff members were allowed to remain.
By late afternoon, temperatures soared into the 90s. By evening, three firefighters had been treated for minor heat exhaustion, Iskow said.
No structures were damaged or threatened.
An air tanker helps attack the blaze. Photo by Tom Schultz / SBNThe South Coast front range was not in danger. The fire burned about nine miles north of Los Olivos and 35 miles from Santa Barbara. Likewise, Foxen Canyon Road and wineries along the stretch remained open Wednesday, though officials asked anyone who did not need to be there to avoid the area.
This comes days after a similar fire in Los Padres National Forest devoured more than 480 acres and forced campground evacuations along Paradise Road. That blaze, the Rancho Fire, started Saturday and was fully contained Tuesday.
Conditions are ripe for trouble. The region has been under a general, high fire "Red Flag Alert" since Friday, brought on by high temperatures, low humidity, significantly low rainfall this season and an ongoing potential for sundowner winds.
The Zaca Fire spread amid slight winds estimated at 5 to 10 mph in lowlands.
By 4 p.m., authorities had six air tankers and five helicopters on the scene, to drop retardant and coordinate the attack. Bulldozers were also deployed. Officials hoped to establish helicopter landing areas at the fire on Thursday to ferry in more personnel.
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UPDATE 4:45 p.m. Thursday: The fire today grew to 1,000 acres, and firefighters said it might be 1,200 by tonight. The blaze was 30 percent contained. More than 880 firefighters were on scene as temperatures soared into the 90s, with as many as 1,200 expected by evening.
Officials used 15 air tankers and 5 helicopters to drop retardant and patrol the blaze. Three firefighters suffered minor heat exhaustion and another a minor ankle injury. Still no structures threatened, according to Santa Barbara County Capt. Eli Iskow, a department spokesman.
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UPDATE 8:30 p.m. Friday: The Zaca Fire grew to 4,600 acres by Friday evening, as 1,200 firefighters battled steep terrain and contained 30 percent of the wildland blaze. The fire entered 1,00o acres of the dry Los Padres National Forest and continued to burn east in and around Lion Canyon. Officials said it was too difficult to say when it might be fully doused. The forest was closed in and around Figueroa Mountain as a precaution.
"It's going to be a difficult fire to corral," Kathy Good, a Los Padres spokeswoman, said around 5 p.m., when the fire was estimated at 3,000 acres. "It could get much larger."
Officials had more than 20 aircraft on the scene. No structures were in imminent danger. A total of nine firefighters had suffered heat exhaustion since the fire broke out Wednesday morning.
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Fire Burns at 4,600 Acres, Road Closures Announced
Saturday, July 07 2007
UPDATE 12:25 p.m. Saturday: The Zaca Fire in Santa Barbara County backcountry burned on at an estimated 4,600 acres Saturday morning, as 1,100 firefighters battled steep terrain and maintained a difficult grip on the blaze, which remained 30 percent contained. The following Roads were closed: Happy Canyon Road east at Baseline Road, and Figueroa Mountain east at Highway 154.
"The fire is currently burning in very rugged inaccessible terrain," firefighters said in a statement. "Significant fire activity occurred late in the afternoon on Friday. The fire has now burned into the Los Padres National Forest. Approximately 1000 acres of forest land has burned. The San Rafael Wilderness is threatened. Control efforts are focused on containing the fire to South of the Sisquoc River, west of the San Rafael Wilderness, and north of Zaca Lake Road. Crews are experiencing high heat and low humidity on the fireline. Significant resources are arriving."
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das hört sich erstmal noch garnet so interessant an, aber die bilder...
besonders dieses...
sieht schon recht bedrohlich aus...:hm
