CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS : Zaca Wildland Fire - 38,030 Acres

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Zaca Wildland Fire - 38,030 Acres - 70 percent Containment

Zaca Wildland Fire

INCIDENT UPDATED 08:30

ANNOUNCEMENT

Forest Service Closes Additional Areas in Los Padres National Forest
Forest Service Closes Additional Areas in Los Padres National Forest GOLETA, CA...Additional areas in Los Padres National Forest are now closed to the public due to the Zaca Fire emergency, the Forest... more

Zaca Fire Area Closure Map
Credit: Zaca Fire GIS Unit

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Summary

Update Morning August 2, 2007

Location: 15 miles Northeast of Buellton, Santa Barbara County

Incident Management Team: U.S. Forest Service / Santa Barbara County

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

Acres: 38,030 Acres

Percent Containment: 70 percent

Estimated Containment: September 7, 2007

Resources: Hand Crews: 34; Dozers: 11; Engines: 29; Water Tenders: 27; Helicopters: 7-Type 1, 7-Type 2 and 3-Type 3; Air Tankers: 8 ordered; Air Attack: 2; Total Personnel: 1,355; Injuries: 11; Structures Threatened: 14; Fireline-to-Build: 15 miles; Estimated Cost-to-Date: $41.4 million

Current Forest and Road Closures:

Happy Canyon Road is closed at the Los Padres National Forest boundary.
Figueroa Mountain Road is closed at the Los Padres National Forest boundary
Paradise Road is closed at the First Crossing picnic area
For current fire information while traveling on Highway 154, tune to 1040 AM.

Significant Events: An EVACUATION ORDER continues for the Peachtree Community. This order will be re-evaluated on Thursday, August 2^nd. An EVACUATION WARNING remains in place for Happy Canyon Road north of Baseline Avenue, including the ranches between Lake Cachuma and McKinley Ridge. The Forest Service announced an expanded closure of the Los Padres National Forest today. The closure area is approximately 649,000 acres, and is between Hwy 166 in northern Santa Barbara County and Highway 33 and Matilija Canyon in Ventura County. Detailed information on the closure can be found at your local Forest Service Office.

Current Situation: The majority of the fire activity moved south in the head of Black Canyon and East into Coche Creek. Islands of unburned fuel continue to burn within the fire perimeter. The daily inversion layer has continued the trend of increased burning at night and suppressed burning during the day. Hand line construction will be started on a ridge adjacent to Black Canyon and South of Santa Cruz Peak Thursday. The hand line at the head of Peachtree Canyon continues to hold. Dozers continue to clean up contingency lines in the existing fuel breaks near Paradise Rd. Structure protection groups are in place in the Peachtree and Paradise areas and continue working on improvements around structures.

Safety Message: Travelers using SR-154, Happy Canyon or Figueroa Mountain Roads are asked to be cautious of firefighting equipment and personnel traveling in the area.

Additional Information: In light of the current conditions and fire behavior, smoke is likely to be visible throughout the Central Coast and into the San Joaquin Valley. More information is available at: http://www.sbsheriff.org/ and http://www.sbcfire.com

Incident Commanders: Aaron Gelobter, Boise Incident Management Team and Mark Schmitt, Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

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	1,355
Size	38,030 acres
Percent Contained	70%
Estimated Containment Date	09/07/2007 at hrs.
Fuels Involved	Model 4 (6 ft) and oak woodlands. Live fuel moistures are at 51%, levels normally seen in late summer. Division J is burning in a mix of pine and chaparral.
Fire Behavior	The inversion continues to encourage active burning conditions during nightime hours and suppresses intense daytime burning.
Significant Events	Additional areas in Los Padres National Forest are now closed to the public due to fire activity. Closure area now includes lands between Highway 166 in Northern Santa Barbara County and Highway 33 and Matilija Canyon in Ventura County. This closure now affects approx. 649,000 acres.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Direct line construction continues in Division J. Direct line construction will be initiated on a ridge adjacent to Black Canyon and south to Santa Cruz Peak. This operation will coincide with backing fire activity into the Santa Cruz drainage. Indirect line construction and preparation for burnout if necessary continues in portions of Divisions T, S and R. Crews continue to hold and secure line in Divisions U and I. Dozer group continues clean up of existing fuelbreaks as contingency lines. Peachtree and Paradise structure protection groups are in place and continue improvements around structures.
Projected Movement	There is a high probability of the fire increasing significantly in size, during the next 12 to 72 hours.
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	5 mph NE
Current Temperature	70 degrees
Current Humidity	25 %

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