The Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County, California's largest so far this year, has grown to 37,742 acres, but firefighters have worked to contain the blaze around the Santa Ynez and Los Olivos region, where structures were threatened.
Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Scott Safechuck said Saturday morning that more than 3,400 personnel were working around the clock to extinguish the blaze, which was nearly 20 percent contained as of Saturday morning.
Crew members have made a “visible difference” on the south side of the fire, where flames could previously be seen from Santa Ynez and the Cachuma Lake area, Safechuck said.
Despite unusually hot nights over the past week that worsened the fire risk, firefighters had made some progress overnight with controlled burns of dry vegetation and a helicopter dropping water. Those coordinated efforts “have been really successful in eliminating a lot of the threat on the south side,” Safechuck said.
“That’s really good for community safety, because that’s where a lot of the structures were threatened,” he said. “We’re making a huge improvement in that area.”
More than two dozen helicopters were dispatched to the fire on Friday, Safechuck said.
“We have a lot of air support here that is critical to working with ground resources to fight this fire,” he said.
The wildfire is a bit more challenging in the interior of the country, where there is more wilderness and difficult terrain to navigate. Firefighters wrapped structures in a foil-like material to protect them from the fire.
The fire started on July 5, but the cause is still under investigation.
An evacuation warning has been upgraded to an order for areas of KP Ranch, west of Alisos Road, according to a Cal Fire report Friday afternoon, including parts of Estelle Vineyard Drive, Santa Agueda Creek and Brinkerhoff Avenue.
Other areas under evacuation orders include:
- The area east of La Brea Creek and Forest Route 10N06, south of the Los Padres National Forest boundary, and north of the Sisquoc River.
- Woodstock (areas north of Calzada Avenue, east of East Oak Trail Road, west of Happy Canyon, and south of the Sisquoc River).
- Goat Rock Areas (Goat Rock area, east of Figueroa Creek, north of the U.S. Forest Service entrance on Happy Canyon Road, and south of Cachuma Mountain).
- Parts of the Figueroa Mountain area: south of Tunnel House on the Sisquoc River, east of Figueroa Creek, north of the south end of Cachuma Mountain, and west of the Los Padres National Forest areas.
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All areas from Figueroa Mountain Road at Junction Camp (including Tunnel Road) to Chamberlin Ranch and all areas from Zaca Lake Road at Foxen Canyon Road north to the Sisquoc River.
Evacuation warnings, meaning people should be prepared to leave but are not required to do so, have been issued for the following areas:
- Area east of Kelly Canyon, north of the Sisquoc River, west of La Brea Creek and Forest Route 10N06, and south of the Los Padres National Forest.
- Area beginning at the southern end of Cachuma Creek, northeast across Santa Cruz Creek to Santa Cruz Peak, west across Grand Spring and to the northern part of Cachuma Creek.
- Area east and north of Alisos Road (L-shaped road), west of Cachuma Creek, and south of the U.S. Forest Service entrance on Happy Canyon Road.
- Area east of Highway 154, north of Armour Ranch Road/Secretariate Street, west of Alisos Road, and south of the Woodstock and KP Ranch areas.
- Areas north of Zaca Creek Road to Rancho Sisquoc and south of the Sisquoc River.
- Area east of Figueroa Mountain Road, north of Highway 154, west of Calzada Avenue/West Oak Trail Road and south of Woodstock Road.
Highway 154 is not under an evacuation warning and remains open, according to Cal Fire.
Safechuck said a new monsoon-like weather pattern approaching the region could bring dry lightning to the area, potentially sparking new fires.
California's fire season has already begun in unprecedented fashion as the state grapples with weather conditions including extreme heat. More than 3,600 fires have been recorded so far this year, and 228,756 acres have burned. One death has been reported so far, after authorities said human remains were found in a structure that burned Monday in the Mina fire near Covelo.
