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Sunday, July 29, 2007

InciWeb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 33,500 acres - 70%

Zaca Wildland Fire

INCIDENT UPDATED

ANNOUNCEMENT

Incident: Zaca
Released: 12 hrs. ago

An EVACUATION ORDER has been issued for the Peachtree Community. An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued for Happy Canyon Road up to Baseline Avenue. With the current warming and drying trend, active burning continued throughout the night in the uncontained, southeast area of the fire. Approximately 1000 acres burned in a southeast direction since yesterday with areas burning out of the San Rafael Wilderness, including two spot fires. The relative humidity recovery overnight was very minimal, only reaching into the mid twenties. Active burning is predicted to continue today, as single digit relative humidities and temperatures into the mid 90s prevail in the fire area. Columns and drift smoke are likely to be seen throughout the Central Coast. While the fire burns in old and heavy fuel, fire crews and air attack are continuing to work diligently to bring this fire to full containment.

Zaca Fire Perimeter, Afternoon of 7-29-2007
Credit: Zaca Fire GIS Staff

view pictures || view maps

Summary

Location: 15 miles Northeast of Buellton, Santa Barbara County

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

Start Date & Report Time: July 4, 2007 at 10:53 AM

Acres: 33,500 Acres Percent Containment: 70 percent Estimated Containment: September 7, 2007

Resources: Hand Crews: 13; Dozers: 3; Engines: 7; Air Tankers: 8; Helicopters: 15; Water Tenders: 22; Overhead Personnel: 116; Total Personnel: 502; Injuries: 8; Structures Threatened: 12; Fireline-to-Build: 10 miles; Estimated Cost-to-Date: $37,100,000

Current Forest and Road Closures:

Happy Canyon Road above Baseline Road is within the Evacuation Warning area. Due to the presence of fire-related traffic, public travel is discouraged in this area. The road is open to residents.
Figueroa Mountain Road is open. Please drively slowly and watch for fire equipment.
Due to the presence of heavy equipment working in the area, East Camino Cielo Road between Painted Cave Road and Gibraltar Road is closed to general public traffic. Bulldozers are enhancing an existing fuelbreak that parallels East Camino Cielo. This work is being done as a longterm contingency should the Zaca Fire advance in that direction. The Zaca Fire is several miles away and does not pose an immediate threat to the area. Similary contingency lines are being placed as a precautionary measure at strategic locations around Los Padres National Forest.
Travelers on Paradise Road off Highway 154 should drive at a safe speed and watch for heavy equipment. A helibase is being developed on Rancho San Fernando Rey off Paradise Road to support the Zaca Fire.
Portions of Los Padres National Forest in the general vicinity of the Zaca Fire are closed to public entry for public and firefighter safety.
Los Padres National Forest Officials have reduced the forest closure. The updated closure order and map are available at http://www.inciweb.org/.
The Los Padres National Forest Officials would like to remind forest visitors to be careful when traveling the Happy Canyon and Figueroa Mountain roads due to the continued use of fire equipment in the area.

Significant Events: An EVACUATION ORDER has been issued for the Peachtree Community. An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued for Happy Canyon Road north of Baseline Avenue, including the ranches between Lake Cachuma and McKinley Ridge. With the current warming and drying trend, active burning continued throughout the day in a southeast direction. The fire remained along the McKinley Trail and did not firmly establish itself in the Peachtree drainage. The fire dropped down the Santa Cruz Peak and started to establish itself in the Black Canyon drainage. The fire moved approximately one mile south of Mission Pine Basin. Columns and drift smoke are likely to be seen throughout the Central Coast. While the fire burns in old and heavy fuel, fire crews and air attack are continuing to work diligently to bring this fire to full containment.

Current Situation: The relative humidity tonight will be slightly higher, but recovery remains minimal at 30%. Tomorrow the relative humidities are expected to be, once again, in the single digits with warmer temperatures. Normal upslope winds in the afternoon changing to northwest winds in the evening with gusts up to 25 mph.

Safety Message: Travelers using SR-154, please be cautious of firefighting equipment and personnel. In addition, with the re-opening of some areas of the forest, we want to remind forest visitors to watch for heavy equipment and crews working on the rehabilitation efforts.

Additional Information: In light of the current weather conditions and fire behavior, smoke from the Zaca Fire may be visible over a wide area with occasional drift smoke as far away as Santa Barbara, Goleta or other areas of the county.

Approved By Unified Incident Commanders:

AARON GELOBTER / RICK TODD

Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildland Fire
Cause	Human Caused
Date of Origin	07/04/2007 at 1053 hrs.
Location	20 miles north west of Santa Barbara, Ca.
Incident Commander	Aaron Gelobter/ Rick Todd

Current Situation

Total Personnel	502
Size	33,500 acres
Percent Contained	70%
Estimated Containment Date	09/07/2007 at hrs.
Fuels Involved	4 Chaparral (6 Feet) Model 4 (6 ft) and oak woodlands. Fuel moisture levels are extremely low, at levels normally seen in late summer.
Fire Behavior	Progression on the western edge of the fire slowed along the upper portion of the Peachtree drainage. However, the fire continued movement on the south and then to the east, further establishing itself in the wilderness with short range spotting and torching.
Significant Events	The evacuation of Peachtree remains in effect. The Forest is evaluation closure of additional areas.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Structure protection is in place for Peachtree and preparation is underway in case there is a need to use indirect line and burnout around the community. Opportunities to safely construct and secure direct line along the ridge above Peachtree is being evaluated. Direct line construction continues in Division J.
Projected Movement	Fire will continue to spread to the south and east with a forward spread of 1.5 to 2.0 miles per day.
Growth Potential	Extreme.
Terrain Difficulty	Extreme.
Containment Target	The remote access and rugged terrain will require a long term strategy that will be implemented over a 5 to 6 week period.
Remarks	There is a continued threat to state responsibility areas.

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	2-10 (20) mph W
Current Temperature	87 degrees
Current Humidity	25 %

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CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Sunday, July 29, 2007

InciWeb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 33,500 acres - 70%

Zaca Wildland Fire