CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS : Inciweb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 214,725 acres

Monday, August 20, 2007

Inciweb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 214,725 acres - 75 percent

Zaca Wildland Fire

INCIDENT UPDATED 12 MIN. AGO

ANNOUNCEMENT

Precautionary Evacuation Issued Highway 33 Closed To All Traffic
Zaca Fire News ... more

map: Zaca Fire Perimeter, August 20, 2007

Zaca Fire Perimeter, August 20, 2007 (Active fire is red)
Credit: Zaca Fire Geographic Information

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Summary

ZACA FIRE UPDATE Monday, August 20, 2007 8:00 AM

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

On the Web: www.sbcfire.com/ or www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres or www.inciweb.org/

Fire Information Phone Line: (805) 961-5770

Fire Status

Acres Burned: 214,725 acres

Acreage Increase (last 12 hours): 15,137 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: 581

Structured Destroyed: 1 outbuilding

Resources

Crews: 71

Engines: 101

Helicopters: 22

Air Tankers: 8

Air Attack: 3

Dozers: 41

Water Tenders: 81

Total Personnel Assigned: 3,035

Cost to Date: $ 84.8 million

Headlines:

Hwy 33 between Wheeler Gorge and Ventucopa is closed to all traffic, except for residents. Residents are required to carry identification to access areas within the road closure.

Current Situation:

On the northwest perimeter, the fire is well established in Foresters Leap Canyon on the north rim of Sisquoc Canyon. Incident Commanders are developing contingency plans for a backfire operation along the Cottonwood Road on Sierra Madre Ridge. On the northeast perimeter, the fire continues to be active in the Dick Smith Wilderness, one mile west of Highway 33. Today (Monday), the strategy is to continue a backfire operation from Cuyama Peak Road in Dry Canyon towards Highway 33 and a backfire operation from Highway 33 north to Ozena. These backfire operations are intended to provide a good secure line on the east perimeter of the fire in order to stop the forward progress of the fire.

Today, as weather conditions permit, firefighting in the southeastern section of the Zaca Fire will continue along the Hildreth and Pendola Jeepways. Crews will continue to ignite vegetation along the jeepways to remove fuels between the fireline and the main fire. This firing operation is expected to begin early in the morning and last as long as weather conditions are favorable.

Firefighting resources staged at the Ventura County Fairgrounds are creating and reopening fuelbreaks, clearing roads, and providing structure protection. The firefighters will also be available for initial attack for Ventura County and the Los Padres National Forest.

Warmer and drier weather forecasted through Tuesday evening will challenge firefighting efforts to complete the firelines. A fire weather watch has been issued due to low humidity.

Forest, Road and Area Closures:

Hwy 33 between Wheeler Gorge and Ventucopa will be closed to all traffic, except for residents.
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	Oplinger/ Childers/ Dietr

Current Situation

Total Personnel	3,053
Size	214,725 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.
Fire Behavior	Live Oak - South and Southeast side of fire: Active backing fire occurred, but the fire is holding along the Monte Arido fuel break and the Pendola Jeepway. Richardson Zone - north and northeast side of the fire: Stronger winds, higher temperatures, lower relative humidity and reduced shade on the fuels combined to increase intensities of upslope and up-canyon runs where the slope aligned with the wind.
Significant Events	Live Oak - south and southeast side of fire: The Paradise Road and Santa Ynez River Recreation Area remain under an evacuation warning, open to residents only. Existing fire line held. Unfavorable winds caused discontinuation of backfiring. Richardson Zone - northeast and north side of fire: Fire is continuing to spread east and northwest. A precautionary evacuation is in progress and is being coordinated by Ventura County Sheriffs. Hwy 33 remains closed. Backfiring began along Hwy 33 toward Ozena.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Live Oak - South and Southeast side of fire: Patrol, mop-up, and improve existing control lines. Conduct burnout and holding operations along the Hildreth Jeepway and Pendola Jeepway when conditions permit. Perform recon, planning and contingency line construction in the Live Oak Contingency Branch and the Santa Barbara front country from Romero Canyon to Lake Casitas. Richardson Zone - northeast and north side of fire: Continue burnout operations in the northeast. Continue burnout from Pine Mt. summit to Ozena. Develop strategy for the new Branch 23. Maintain Hwy 33 road closure and precautionary evacuations.
Projected Movement	Live Oak - South and Southeast side of fire: Continued active spread to the east up Diablo Canyon. Backing South in Agua Caliente Canyon. Richardson Zone - north and northeast side of fire: increase west and north down Sisquoc River toward Sierra Madre Ridge. Increase north and east toward Hwy 33.
Growth Potential	Extreme.
Terrain Difficulty	Extreme.
Remarks	Live Oak Zone: The fire is well-established in Mono Creek, Agua Caliente Canyons, and Diablo Canyon. Burning operations are being implemented along the contingency lines while winds are favorable. Firefighters continue to backfire on the Hildreth Jeepway southward while winds are favorable. A Fire Weather Watch and the possibility of a Red Flag Warning signal that fire activity could increase significantly.

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	5 mph NE
Current Temperature	62 degrees
Current Humidity	26 %

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