CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS : InciWeb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 33,500 acres

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

InciWeb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 33,500 acres - 60%

Zaca Wildland Fire

INCIDENT UPDATED

ANNOUNCEMENT

Evacuation Ordered Issued for the Peachtree Community
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.

Map shows the boundary of the fire, as of July 31

Credit: Zaca Fire GIS Section

view pictures || view maps

Summary

Location: 15 miles Northeast of Buellton, Santa Barbara County

Incident Management Team: Los Padres National Forest

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

Acres: 33,350 Acres

Percent Containment: 60 percent

Estimated Containment: September 7, 2007

Resources: Hand Crews: 28; Dozers: 8; Engines: 32; Air Tankers: 2; Helicopters: 14; Water Tenders: 22; Total Personnel: 1,040; Injuries: 8; Structures Threatened: 14; Fireline-to-Build: 15 miles; Estimated Cost-to-Date: $39,100,000

Current Forest and Road Closures:

Happy Canyon Road is open.
Figueroa Mountain Road is open.
Los Padres National Forest Closure information and map are available at http://www.inciweb.org/.
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 continues for the Peachtree Community. An EVACUATION WARNING remains in place for Happy Canyon Road north of Baseline Avenue, including ranches and residences between Lake Cachuma and McKinley Ridge.

With continuing warm and dry conditions, active burning will continue throughout the day in the southeast and northeast areas of the fire. The fire remains in steep, rocky terrain with poor access. The continued poor accesss makes containment diffcult in the wilderness on the eastern flank. Downhill progression to the south and west established fire in the head of Peachtree Canyon and again threatens private lands and structures. Continued low relative humidity (single digit) and wind aligned with topography resulted in extreme fire behavior yesterday. Predicted weather over the next several days and into the weekend is for similar conditions.

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 Forest is evaluating additional closure areas. Two historic cabins at Santa Cruz and Bluff Camp have been wrapped for fire protection.

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.

Incident Commander:

AARON GELOBTER

Boise Incident Management Team

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	Aaron Gelobter

Current Situation

Total Personnel	1,040
Size	33,350 acres
Percent Contained	60%
Estimated Containment Date	09/07/2007 at hrs.
Fuels Involved	Chaparral, 6 foot high and oak woodlands. Fuel moisture levels are extremely low, at levels normally seen in late summer. Division J on the SE side of the fire is burning in a mix of pine and chaparral.
Fire Behavior	The fire continued steady progression through the night to the east in Divisions J and S pushed by winds and fueled by low humidity. Division T continued to hold on the McKinley fuelbreak at the head of Peachtree Canyon. The fire made significant runs with torching and spotting to the northeast toward Mission Pines Basin.
Significant Events	The Forest is evaluating the closure of additional areas. The evacuation of Peachtree remains in effect. Historic cabins at Santa Cruz and Bluff Camp were wrapped for fire protection.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Divisions T, J and I are the priorities for the next operational period. Division U completed and will be monitored by air resources. Division T should be completed tonight with crews to hold and secure tomorrow. Division S continues improvemnt of indirect line on the Santa Cruz Jeep Trail. Division J completed line to drainage in section 12 west of Mission Pine Camp. Ability to continue direct line efforts in J will be evaluated.
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 to Mission Pine Ridge with the high probability of significantly increasing in size.
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	Not available

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	4-12 mph NE
Current Temperature	72 degrees
Current Humidity	12-17 %

No comments:

How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS