RED FLAG WARNING - SUNDOWNERS - Jesusita Fire - Santa Ynez Range and Santa Barbara South coast
Red flag warning in effect until 10 am Friday for the Santa Ynez range and Santa Barbara south coast due to gusty northerly winds and low humiditySUNDOWNER EVENT - A STRONG NORTHERLY PRESSURE DIFFERENCE ACROSS SANTA BARBARA COUNTY WILL GENERATE STRONG SUNDOWNER WINDS TONIGHT AND AGAIN THURSDAY NIGHT.
TEMPERATURES WILL SOAR WELL INTO THE 90S DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS...
WITH HUMIDITIES FALLING TO BETWEEN 10 AND 20 PERCENT ACROSS THE WARNING AREA.
THE LARGE AMOUNT OF DEAD FUEL CONTENT NEAR THE JESUSITA FIRE...WILL LEAD TO A GREATER THREAT OF RAPID FIRE GROWTH IN THAT REGION.
RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PDT FRIDAY DUE TO GUSTY NORTHERLY WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES...
Instruction:
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND HOT TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL. PLEASE ADVISE THE APPROPRIATE OFFICIALS OR FIRE CREWS IN THE FIELD OF THIS RED FLAG WARNING.
Heads up! the forecast for Wednesday afternoon calls for wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and lower humidity than Tuesday.
Jesusita Fire update: 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 6
Officials held a press conference at noon Wednesday detailing the latest developments in the Jesusita Fire burning north of Santa Barbara.
Current Size: Jesusita Fire still at 196 acres burned. No containment
Resources: 884 personnel on the scene and that crews are working on the south flank of the fire.
Evacuations are currently as follows: Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said the evacuation orders and warnings still stand as they were Tuesday evening, and that they are not expected to be lifted Wednesday. Brown reminds evacuees and the public to please stay out of areas under mandatory evacuation orders. Those under the evacuation warning should stay alert and be prepared to leave should they be ordered to evacuate.
MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER: All locations north of Foothill Road (Highway 192) east of Ontare Road and Morada Lane, and west of El Cielito Road/Gibraltar Road to East Camino Cielo.
Fuels/Terrain: Pat McElroy with the Santa Barbara Fire Department said that steep terrain, high temperatures, and poor access to the fire are the challenges fire crews are dealing with today. The area currently burning last burned about 50 years ago, and John Ridgewater with the U.S. Forest Service added that the dead fuel material helps green material burn even though we are coming out of the rainy season and live fuel moisture is high.
Weather: Overnight, the winds died down, preventing the fire from growing as much as previously thought, Heads up! the forecast for Wednesday afternoon calls for wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and lower humidity than Tuesday.
Control/Containment: McElroy said there is no estimate on containment of the Jesusita Fire at this time.
Injuries: There has been one report of a minor injury as a result of the fire.
Problems: Officials say they are competing for air resources with the Canelo Fire that started Tuesday afternoon near Fort Huachuca, Arizona, but that the aircraft currently on the Jesusita Fire, which include six planes and five helicopters, are commited to the Jesusita Fire for the time being.--------------
News conference 0730:
The Jesusita Fire stands*at 196 acres this morning.
Officials state the acreage number released Tuesday night of 420 acres was not accurate, stating it was difficult to assess the acreage with the smoke.
The winds died down Tuesday night, though are expected to pick up again today with gusts up to 50 to 55 mph.
Fire crews will be fighting the fire today with six fixed-wing aircraft, five helicopters and 15 hand crews.
Their priority is to keep the fires out of the neighborhoods.
The evacuation order issued Tuesday night remains in effect
CA-SBC Jesusita Incident - Helicopter working bucket 0n the firePhoto credit: keyt.com
View CA-SBC-Jesusita in a larger map
Mandatory Evacuation Orders:
All locations north of Foothill Road (Highway 192) from Ontare Road and Morada Lane to El Cielito Road/Gibraltar Road to East Camino Cielo.
Evacuation Warning/Advisory:
All areas west of Coyote Road/Sycamore Canyon Road, north of Alameda Padre Serra to Los Olivos, north of Constance Road to State Street, north of State Street to La Cumbre Road, east of La Cumbre Road to Foothill Road, west of Highway 154 from Foothill Road (Highway 192) to East Camino Cielo Road.
Road closures are in effect at:
•Mission Canyon and Tunnel Roads
•Montrose and Tunnel Roads
•Las Encinitas and Mission Canyon Roads
•Alameda Padre Serra and Los Olivos
•Mountain Drive and Mission Canyon Road
•Laguna St. at Los Olivos
•Los Olivos and Garden Street
•Foothill Road (Highway 192) and Mission Canyon Road.
Update: 2000hrs -420 acres
Update: 1840hrs - The fire has burned 150 acres and is moving in a southeasterly direction now and is driven by the winds. CAL FIRE Incident Command Team 6 has been requested.
According to David Sadecki with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, fire crews are attacking the blaze from the air with three helicopters and from the ground with hand crews, 14 strike teams for structure protection and 70 engines. They are battling rough terrain.
LPF #001479 Jesusita Fire, Fire has burned approximately 100 to 150 acres heavy brush with 0% containment. Incident is in Unified Command with LPF, SBC and STB Goleta/Santa Barbara Areas above San Roque and Mission Canyons Santa Barbara County CA.
The fire is located in the unincorporated area at the end of San Roque Road, near northeast side of Santa Barbara City. Fire is bounded to the west by the Tea Fire and to the north by the Zaca Fire and the ocean to the south.
The fire has a potential for 5,000 acres and is bounded on the North by the Zaca Fire and the West on the Tea Fire. Small animals can be taken to the Humane Society at 5399 Overpass Road in Goleta. Large animals can be evacuated to Earl Warren Showgrounds.
Update: 1730hrs - There are about 1,200 homes affected by the current mandatory evacuation orders, Small animals are being evacuated to the Humane Society at Overpass Road and Patterson in Santa Barbara.
Update: 1720hrs - LACoFD just dispatched three Type 1 Strike Teams to the Jesusita Fire, RRU sent strike team 9310C
Update: 1635hrs -Estimating 100 -125 acres and "marching" steadily eastbound to the top of Tunnel Road. A new evacuation order has been issued for all locations north of Foothill Road (Highway 192) east of Ontare Road and Morada Lane, and west of El Cielito Road/Gibraltar Road to East Camino Cielo.
Update: 1555hrs - All traffic on La Cumbre north of State St. and Foothill Rd is being shut down. Reverse 911® calls issued for the areas East of Hwy 154, North of Foothill and West of Mission Canyon.
Update: 1455hrs - Evacuation orders issued: Holly Road, Spyglass and Foothill Rd and Spyglass and Tunnel Road. Ops requesting tanker(s) out of Hemet. Helicopters talking about the wind shifting to more northerly which would push the fire more in the Santa Barbara, Laurel Reservoir, Mission Canyon area.
Update: 1435hrs - Some evacuations being initiated according to SBC dispatch.
Fire is midslope on LPF property. Currently a slope driven fire above Spyglass Lane. Upper level winds are offshore. Eye level winds are upslope.
Update: 1415hrs - 10 acres, rapid rate of spread, mid slope, heavy fuels. Wind in the area. No structures threatened.
Informational reverse 911 calls: Authorities are issuing an informational reverse 911 call for people west of Highway 154, north of Foothill Road and west of Mission Canyon Road. It is only to let people know there is a fire near them so they can start preparing.
Emergency shelter: Red Cross at (805) 450-5921.
The Red Cross is opening a shelter at the Presbyterian Church at the corner of 21 East Constance Street and State Street in Santa Barbara.
Road closures: The Santa Barbara Police Department says that Mission Canyon and Mission Ridge roads are both closed at Foothill Road.
IC: Jesusita Incident - joint command post at 1400 San Roque Road.
Staging: Staging area being set up at Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara.
Initial sizeup: 1330hrs - about four acres, Slow rate of spread, no structures threat at this time, but the fire is burning near power lines.
Fire behavior: It is burning in a north-easterly direction upslope.
Weather: Evening sundowner winds expected, Strongdown canyon wind is expected this evening.
Location: San Roque Canyon near the Tunnel Road area north of Santa Barbara.
Google map link
Resources: Santa Barbara City Fire and U.S. Forest Service fire crews are also on scene, two helicopters H-309 & 308 are responding with an air attack.
Live video:
live coverage on Local KEYT channel 3 - Link
KCOY live streaming footage. Link
streaming live on a sbcams.com webcam: Link
Important phone numbers:
Public Information Call Center
(805) 681-5197
Red Cross Shelter
Dos Pueblos High School
7266 Alameda Avenue, Goleta
Phone: (805) 687-1331
Small Animal Evacuations
Humane Society
5399 Overpass Road, Goleta
(805) 681-4332
Road Closure Hotline
Click above or call (805) 568-3006
FIRE TIP LINE
Santa Barbara County - Jesusita Fire Updates
Cal Fire Incident Information
Santa Barbara City Fire Information
No comments:
Post a Comment
CAL FIRE NEWS LOVES COMMENTS...
- Due to rampant abuse, we are no longer posting anonymous comments. Please use your real OpenID, Google, Yahoo, AIM, Twitter, Flickr name.