The Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County is California’s largest fire so far this year and has grown to 37,742 acres, but firefighters are working to contain the blaze around the Santa Ynez and Los Olivos areas, where structures was threatened.
Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Scott Safechuck said Saturday morning that more than 3,400 personnel were working around the clock to extinguish the blaze, which was nearly 20% contained Saturday morning.
Safechuck said crews have made “significant changes” on the south side of the fire, where flames were previously visible from the Santa Ynez and Lake Cachuma areas.
Although unusually hot nights over the past week have heightened the fire risk, firefighters made some progress overnight through controlled burning of dry vegetation and a water-dropping helicopter. Those coordinated efforts “really succeeded in helping us neutralize a lot of the threats on the south side,” Safechuck said.
“It’s really good for community safety because a lot of the buildings there are threatened,” he said. “We are making huge progress in this area.”
Safechuck said more than two dozen helicopters were dispatched to the fire Friday.
“We have a lot of air support here that helps work with ground resources to fight this fire,” he said.
Wildfires are more challenging in remote areas because there is more wilderness and challenging terrain. Firefighters wrap buildings in materials similar to aluminum foil to protect them from fires.
The fire started on July 5, but the cause is still under investigation.
An evacuation warning was upgraded to an order for the KP Ranch area west of Alisos Road, which includes parts of Estelle Vineyard Drive, Santa Agueda Creek and Brinkerhoff Avenue, according to a Cal Fire report Friday afternoon.
Other areas under evacuation orders include:
- The area east of La Brea Creek and Forest Road 10N06, south of the Los Padres National Forest boundary, and north of the Sisquak River.
- Woodstock (the area north of Calzada Avenue, east of East Oak Trail Road, west of Happy Canyon and south of the Sisquoc River).
- Goat Rock Area (Goat Rock Area, east of Figueroa Creek, north of the U.S. Forest Service entrance on Pleasant Canyon Road, south of Cachuma Mountain).
- Portions of the Figueroa Mountains: south of the Sisquak River Tunnel House, east of Figueroa Creek, north of the southern end of Cachuma Mountain, and west of the Los Padres National Forest area.
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All areas from Figueroa Mountain Road (including Tunnel Road) at Junction Camp to Chamberlin Ranch, and all areas from Zaca Lake Road at Foxen Canyon Road to north of the Sisquoc River.
Evacuation warnings have been issued for the following areas, which means people should be prepared to leave, but are not authorized:
- Areas east of Kelly Canyon, north of the Sisquaw River, west of La Brea Creek and Forest Road 10N06, and south of Los Padres National Forest.
- This area begins at the south end of Cachuma Creek, northeast of Santa Cruz Creek to Santa Cruz Peak, and west across Big Spring to the north of Cachuma Creek.
- Areas east and north of Alisos Road (L-shaped road), west of Cachuma Creek, and south of the U.S. Forest Service entrance on Happy Canyon Road.
- The area is east of Highway 154, north of Armor Ranch Road/Secretaris Street, west of Alisos Road and south of the Woodstock and KP Ranch areas.
- Zaca Creek Road to the area north of Rancho Sisquoc and south of the Sisquoc River.
- The area east of Figueroa Mountain Road, north of Highway 154, west of Calzada Avenue/West Oak Trail Road and south of Woodstock Road.
Highway 154 was not under an evacuation warning and remained open, according to Cal Fire.
Safechuck said a new monsoon weather pattern sweeping through the region could bring dry lightning to the area, sparking new fires.
California’s fire season has begun like never before as the state grapples with extreme heat and other weather conditions. More than 3,600 fires have been reported so far this year, burning 228,756 acres. One death has been recorded after human remains were found in a building that burned in the Mena fire near Covelo on Monday, officials said.
