CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS : Inciweb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 183,408 acres

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Inciweb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 183,408 acres - 75 percent

Zaca Wildland Fire

INCIDENT UPDATED 41 MIN. AGO

ANNOUNCEMENT

Evacuation Warning Issued for Camino Cielo Road from Gibraltar Road east to the Ventura County Line including Gibraltar Reservoir and Jameson Lake.
Effective August 17, 2007 8:00pmThe Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Department and fire authorities have issued an EVACUATION WARNING for East Camino Cielo Road from Gibraltar Road east to the Ventura C... more

Plume of smoke seen from Highway 33, behind the hills.

This photo was taken looking northwest from Highway 33
Credit: Heidi Anderson USFS Ojai Ranger District

view pictures || view maps

Summary

PRECAUTIONARY EVACUATION ISSUED !

Saturday, August 18, 2007 6:00 p.m.

The Zaca Fire has moved east towards Highway 33 has become established in Deal and Rancho Nuevo Canyons in the Dick Smith Wilderness. This has prompted the Ventura County Sheriff to issue a Precautionary Evacuation for residents along the west side of Highway 33 from the Ventura/Santa Barbara County Line to Pine Mountain Summit beginning Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 6:00 pm.

Headline

The Ventura County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service will hold an information meeting on the Zaca Fire at 2:00 pm on Sunday at the Matilija Junior High, 703 El Paseo Road in Ojai. 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/

ZACA FIRE UPDATE

Saturday, August 18, 2007 8:00 PM

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

Fire Status

Acres Burned: 183,408 acres

Acreage Increase (last 12 hours): 11,650 acres

Fireline to Build: 3 miles

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

Percent Contained: 75 percent

Expected Containment: September 7, 2007

Injuries: 30

Structures Threatened: 595

Structures Destroyed: 1 outbuilding

Resources
Crews: 72
Engines: 118
Helicopters: 20
Air Tankers: 8
Air Attack: 3
Dozers: 39
Water Tenders: 78
Total Personnel Assigned: 2,945
Cost to Date: $81.7 million

Headlines:

Hwy 33 between Wheeler Gorge and Ventucopa is closed except to local traffic only. Beginning at 10:00 am on Sunday, August 1, this section of Hwy 33 will be closed to all traffic, including residents.
The Ventura County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service will hold an information meeting on the Zaca Fire at 2:00 pm on Sunday at the Matilija Junior High, 703 El Paseo Road in Ojai.

Current Situation:

Firefighters conducted firing operations along the Pendola Jeepway and the Ogilvy Ranch area as favorable winds allowed them to make extensive progress with this tactic today. These firing operations, designed to consume fuel in the path of the fire to help suppress and change the fires direction, will continue tomorrow if conditions are favorable.

On the northeast perimeter, the fire became active in the Deal and Rancho Nuevo Canyons in the Dick Smith Wilderness 3 miles west of Highway 33. As a result of the activity, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office issued a precautionary evacuation for residents along the west side of Highway 33 from the Ventura/Santa Barbara County Line to Pine Mountain Summit beginning Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 6:00 pm. The fire became active in the Sisquoc Canyon and firefighters were pulled out of the Sweetwater Ridge area due to safety concerns. On the east perimeter, a backfire operation was successful in holding the fire west of the Matilija Wilderness. Tonight, firefighters will begin a backfire operation from Three Sisters Peak northeast to Highway 33. Tomorrow, a backfiring operation will be conducted from Pine Mountain Road to Ozena. This operation will require the closure of Highway 33 to all traffic.

Contingency lines in the areas of Paradise Road, Camino Cielo Road, Camuesa Road, the Sierra Madre Ridge, Pendola Road, and the Matilija Wilderness are completed. These fuel breaks provide potential containment and may be used for firing operations in the event that changing conditions warrant such actions. Additional contingency efforts include improving the following fuelbreaks: Romero, Toro, Rincon, Oil, Santa Monica, Snowball, Chismahoo, and Rice-Wills. These fuelbreaks run west to east from Romero Canyon to Lake Casitas.

Forest, Road and Area Closures:

Hwy 33 between Wheeler Gorge and Ventucopa is closed except to local traffic only.
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 the Forest Service,

Evacuations:

A PRECAUTIONARY EVACUATION for residents along the west side of Highway 33 from the Ventura/Santa Barbara County Line to Pine Mountain Summit

The EVACUATION ORDER for Paradise Road residents, Los Prietos Boys Camp, and the Rancho Oso Guest Ranch has been downgraded to an EVACUATION WARNING.
An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued for East Camino Cielo Road from Gibraltar Road east to the Ventura County Line including Gibraltar Reservoir and Jameson Lake.
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	2,945
Size	183,408 acres
Percent Contained	75%
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.
Significant Events	Live Oak-South side: Richardson-North side:

Outlook

Planned Actions	Not available
Projected Movement	Live Oak-South side: Continued active spread to the east up Mono and Diable Canyons. Fire is backing South in Agua Caliente Canyon. North side-Richardson Zone: Fire is moving West and North down Sisquoc River toard Sierra Madre Ridge and Southeast toward the Matilija Wilderness.
Growth Potential	Extreme.
Terrain Difficulty	Extreme.
Containment Target	South side: Direct and indirect strategy should succeed by 9/7 with success of backfiring. North side: Success rate is expected to be moderate, and is based on ability to anchor and hold on Sierra Madre Ridge toward Hwy 33 and moderate from Hwy 33 west to Three Sisters.
Remarks	Not available

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	10 (g-15) mph S
Current Temperature	97 degrees
Current Humidity	12 %

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