Inciweb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 143,212 acres - 59 percent

Zaca Wildland Fire

Headlines:
There will be an informational meeting on the Zaca Fire on Friday, August 17 at the Halfway House in Ventucopa on Highway 33. The meeting will be at 7 pm.

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INCIDENT UPDATED 09:00 hrs

Zaca Fire Perimeter Map
Credit: Zaca Fire GIS/FIO
original map location: link

view pictures || view maps

Summary

Friday, August 17, 2007 6:00 AM

(MORNING UPDATE IN PROGRESS)

Joint Unified Command: Los Padres National Forest and Santa Barbara County Fire Department

On the Web: http://www.sbcfire.com/ or www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres or http://www.inciweb.org/

Fire Information Phone Line: (805) 961-5770 (LIVE)

Fire Status

Acres Burned: 143,212 acres

Acreage Increase (last 12 hours): 8,816 acres

Fireline to Build: 7 miles

Date Started: July 4, 2007 at 10:53 am

Percent Contained: 59 percent

Expected Containment: September 7, 2007

Injuries: 29

Structures Threatened: 595

Structures Destroyed: 1 outbuilding

Resources

Crews: 82

Engines: 226

Helicopters: 23

Air Tankers: 8

Air Attack: 3

Dozers: 57

Water Tenders: 101

Total Personnel Assigned: 2,852

Cost to Date: $76.3 million

Headlines

There will be an informational meeting today Friday, August 17, at the Halfway House in Ventucopa on Highway 33. The meeting will start at 7 pm.

Current Situation

(UPDATE IN PROGRESS)

Forest, Road and Area Closures:

• Happy Canyon Road is closed at Los Padres National Forest boundary.
• Figueroa Mountain Road is closed at the Los Padres National Forest boundary.
• East Camino Cielo is closed between Painted Cave Road and Gibraltar Road due to fire equipment traffic.
• Paradise Road is within the Evacuation Warning Area and is currently open to residents only.
• The Zaca Fire Area Closure in Los Padres National Forest has been expanded to include additional lands in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Kern Counties. The expanded closure now encompasses approximately 888,000 acres including the entire San Rafael, Matilija and Chumash Wildernesses, a portion of the Sespe Wilderness and adjacent national forest lands. Detailed information on the closure can be found at www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres or http://www.inciweb.org/ or your local Forest Service Office.

Evacuations

• The EVACUATION ORDER for Paradise Road residents, Los Prietos Boys Camp, and the Rancho Oso Guest Ranch has been downgraded to an EVACUATION WARNING.
• The Santa Ynez River Road campgrounds, day use areas and trailheads remain closed.

Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildland Fire
Cause	Human Caused
Date of Origin	07/04/2007 at 1053 hrs.
Location	15 miles NE of Buellton
Incident Commander	Molumby/ Schmit/ Dietrich

Current Situation

Total Personnel	2,852
Size	143,212 acres
Percent Contained	59%
Estimated Containment Date	09/07/2007 at hrs.
Fuels Involved	Heavy brush containing a high dead component. Some conifer at higher elevations. Live fuel moistures are at 49% which is well below critical levels. A continuous fuel bed lies ahead of the fire.
Fire Behavior	South side of the fire: The fire was very active throughout the night, and made a significant run south down Diablo Canyon, pushed by the north and down canyon winds. North side of the fire: Backing and flanking; uphill runs with extreme fire behavior where drainages align with winds on most portions of the fire. Excellent conditions for burning operations. A large amount of smoke remained on the south east side of the fire.
Significant Events	South side of the fire: The Paradise Road and Santa Ynez River Recreation remain under an evacuation warning, open to residents only. North side of the fire: Major fire runs south of the Sisquoc river on the western perimeter. The fire is well established in Mono Creek three miles west of Three Sisters. Continued burnout operations to the east. Control line established on the north side of the fire. Completed 1.5 burnout on north west side. Formulated firing/attack plan for east and south east side of the fire.

Outlook

Planned Actions	South side of the fire: Patrol, mop-up, and improve existing control lines. Conduct burnout and holding operations along the Ogilvy Ranch Road and Potrero Seco Road. Perform recon, planning and contingency line construction in Branch IX on the east side, and the Santa Barbara front country from Romero Canyon to Lake Casitas. North side of the fire: Monitor and hold burnout operation on the north east and north west side of the fire. Conduct firing operations on the east and south east side of the fire.
Projected Movement	Projections for the fire's activity in the next 12 hours. South side of the fire: Continued active spread to the east up Mono, Diablo, and Agua Caliente Canyons. North side of the fire: Northward past Sisquoc River toward Sierra Madre Ridge, Santa Barbara Canyon and Cuyama Peak; south to Mono Creek and Aqua Caliente Canyons.
Growth Potential	Extreme.
Terrain Difficulty	Extreme.
Containment Target	South side of the fire: Indirect line strategy should succeed by 9/7. North side of the fire: Containment strategy has a moderate chance of succeeding, based on the ability to anchor and hold the fire on Sierra Madre Ridge, toward Hwy 33 and from Highway 33 west, to Three Sisters.
Remarks	South side of the fire: The fire is in Mono Creek, Diablo, and Agua Caliente Canyons. The fire overran the Hildreth Jeepway and became established in Agua Caliente Canyon. Burning operations are being implemented along the contingency lines. Resources are engaging the fire on the east side of the Olgivy burn scar. Percentage of containment and line to build are now being calculated based on the projected control lines. Acreage will continue to reflect actual acres consumed. north side of the fire: Change in structures at risk is due to a resurvey by the Contingency Group Staff.

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	4 (g-10) mph W
Current Temperature	40 degrees
Current Humidity	40 %