CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS : InciWeb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 37,350 acres

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

InciWeb: Zaca Wildland Fire - 37,350 acres - 60%

Zaca Wildland Fire

INCIDENT UPDATED 11 MIN. AGO

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 bu... more

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: 37,350 Acres

Percent Containment: 60 percent

Estimated Containment: September 7, 2007

Resources: Hand Crews: 34; Dozers: 9; Engines: 28; Water Tenders: 27; Helicopters: 7-Type 1, 7-Type 2 and 2-Type 3; Air Tankers: 8 on order; Air Attack: 2; Total Personnel: 1,344; Injuries: 11; Structures Threatened: 14; Fireline-to-Build: 18.5 miles; Estimated Cost-to-Date: $40.4 million

Current Forest and Road Closures:

Happy Canyon Road is open.
Figueroa Mountain Road is open.
For current road closures tune to 1040 AM.
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 the ranches between Lake Cachuma and McKinley Ridge. Burning continued throughout the night with the majority of the activity advancing in an easterly direction toward Coche Creek. Islands of unburned fuel continue to burn well within the fire perimeter. The daily inversion layer has increased burning at night and suppressed intense burning during the day. Hand line constructed at the head of Peachtree Canyon has been completed and is holding. Dozers will begin to construct contingency lines in the areas near Paradise Rd. Columns and drift smoke are likely to be seen throughout the Central Coast and drift smoke as far away as the San Joaquin Valley. While the fire burns in old and dense 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	1,344
Size	37,350 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 to be active through the night. Daily inversions have encouraged active burning during nightime hours and suppressed intense daytime burning.
Significant Events	Not available

Outlook

Planned Actions	Direct line construction continues in the north (Divn. J) and in the southeast (Peachtree area). Indirect line construction continues in the Peachtree area , southeast and to the south of the southern most tip of the San Rafael Wilderness.
Projected Movement	There is a high probability of the fire significantly increasing in size.
Growth Potential	Extreme.
Terrain Difficulty	Extreme.
Containment Target	The remote access and rugged terrain require a long term strategy of both direct and indirect attack with contingency planning that is being implemented over a 5 to 6 week period.
Remarks	Not available

Weather

Current Wind Conditions	3-5 mph NW
Current Temperature	75 degrees
Current Humidity	22 %

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