NEWS- Fire crews battling Zaca Fire focus efforts around Sisquoc River

Saturday, July 14, 2007

NEWS- Fire crews battling Zaca Fire focus efforts around Sisquoc River

Thursday, July 12, 2007

SANTA YNEZ VALLEY

Fire crews battling the Zaca Fire concentrate their efforts around the Sisquoc River as the flames move closer to a community.

Here's the latest:

So far the fire has burned 13,200 acres.
The fire is 37 percent contained.
Currently, there is no estimation on when the fire will be contained.
Fire crews are working 48 hour intervals with 12 to 16 hour shifts.

Thursday, Forest Service gave the media a mountain top view of the area firefighters are concentrating their efforts.

In order to gain control of the eastern flank of the Zaca blaze, fire crews have established a burning operation south of the Sisquoc River.

"We are doing some air tanker drops and retardant drops on the ridge tops trying to keep the fire from going into the Sisquoc Drainage," said Manny Madrigil from the Forest Service.

The fire lies just above the ridgeline of the Sisquoc River, an area that is moving closer to the Tepasque community.

Their fear is that the fire may jump the river.

"They do have a control lined up on the Sierra Madre ridge which hopefully they can contain it there," said Madrigil.

Control efforts are being focused on containing the fire east of Schoolhouse Canyon, north of the Figueroa Catway and west of Buckhorn Road.

"It is very difficult to get hand crews down in there. As a matter of fact in most of this area, we are having to rely on hand operations and ground crews," said Zaca Fire Public Information Officer Captain Jim Arvizu.

Firefighters are burning vegetation between the fire and the constructed fire break in order to keep it from jumping.

For now, firefighters' biggest obstacle remains Mother Nature.

"It's the upcoming weather. Its going to be getting hot on us this weekend and that's the biggest concern is that the weather is going to be changing on us," said Madrigil.

To get to that rough terrain area, firefighters have to either fly in or hike there.

The Forest Service has expanded the forest closure to the entire San Rafael Wilderness.

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Saturday, July 14, 2007