NEWS - ZACA HELICOPTER CRASH

Two slightly hurt in crash of firefighting helicopter

Original article at Lompoc Record By Steve Fairchild/Staff Writer

Firefighters spray foam on a helicopter that crashed near Midland School north of Los Olivos Sunday. The aircraft was working the Zaca Lake Fire. Its two occupants, a pilot and co-pilot, received only minor injuries, officials said. //Len Wood/Staff

A helicopter crash grounded air support and made fighting the Zaca Lake Fire more complicated for officials Sunday as crews completed their fifth day battling the blaze with no end in sight.

At 4:07 p.m. a contract firefighting helicopter working out of the Figueroa Helibase crashed during lift off, causing minor injuries to the pilot and co-pilot.

Captain Eli Iskow of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department was on the scene at the helibase, which is located on Figueroa Mountain Road.

“We had to use the Jaws of Life to get one of them out,” Iskow said. “They ended up walking out, but are in good shape.”

With only minor injuries, both men were taken by ambulance to a local hospital, according to a spokesperson from the unified command team. The command team is comprised of personnel from Cal Fire, Santa Barbara County and the United States Forest Service of Los Padres National Forest.

The heliport was shut down Sunday after the accident as a joint accident investigation team tried to figure out the cause of the crash. The helicopter was one of 15 helicopters that are being used to fight the blaze.

“That stopped all the air traffic from the air base,” said Iskow. “All the air resources are grounded, which affects how we are going to deal with the fire.” It was not known Sunday evening how long the air traffic would be grounded.

The fire, which began Wednesday, has now burned more than 6,500 acres and as of Sunday was 30 percent contained. It was only 15 percent contained Saturday.

However, Iskow said that fighting the blaze without air support could lead to more problems.

“It'll allow the fire to progress possibly in places where it might not have,” Iskow said. “But they'll get them up in the air as fast as they can.”

The community of Zaca Lake Resort, Figueroa Campground and various buildings in the Manzana Creek Drainage area continue to be threatened by the fire.

The fire is burning in steep, rocky and broken terrain. Firefighters reported continued success at holding the fire on the north side of the San Rafael Ridge, south of the Sisquoc River and east of Schoolhouse Canyon.

But the blaze has begun to burn into the San Rafael Wilderness and it crossed Manzana Creek, northeast of Zaca Lake, for the first time Sunday, Iskow said.

“We didn't want that crossed,” said Iskow. “It will be a new ballgame tomorrow, probably.”

Firefighters were treated to slightly cooler weather Sunday with the addition of a breeze, but temperatures remained between 80 and 90 degrees, Iskow said.

“It's good fire weather. It's still all about the fuels and wind. It will be an ongoing story.”

More than 1,750 firefighters with 117 engines and six air tankers fought the blaze Sunday with no estimated date of containment.

The two injuries from the helicopter crash brought the number of injuries to 13. Eight of those injuries were caused by heat exhaustion.

The Zaca Lake Fire has also caused road closures. Happy Canyon Road was closed to the east of Baseline Road and Figueroa Mountain Road was closed east at Highway 154.

In addition, the Figueroa Recreation Area, South Fork of La Brea area and portions of the San Rafael Wilderness continued to be closed as of Sunday night.

The fire was caused by sparks from a grinding operation that sparked dry vegetation on private land in Bell Canyon west of Zaca Lake, investigators have discovered.