La Brea Wildfire Part 6

The containment of the La Brea Incident jumped to 25% after long days of fire line construction and burning operations in several geographical areas along the fire perimeter. The fire is now estimated at 75,486 acres. Substantial progress has been made from the north-west area beginning at Buckhorn Canyon . Running south-east to Horse Canyon . The majority of this line is in and holding. Fire engines remain in place along Tepusquet Road to protect structures if the fire should jump the fuel break. The north line will be improved and mopped up today as crews work to hold the fireline along the Treplett fuel break. A dozer line is being built in Schoolhouse Canyon up to Sierra Madre and should be finished today. The challenge remains the south-east portion of the burn in the San Rafael Wilderness because of the lack of acceptable ridgelines or solid points to build containment line. A major effort to improve existing containment perimeter using dozers and by burning out remaining brush will be made today. This should close the gaps that exist on the west side. The completion of the Schoolhouse Canyon dozer line is high priority on the east end. Fixed wing aircraft and three helibases are supporting the fire, one at Santa Ynez Airport, one at Santa Maria Airport, and a supply helibase at the Incident Command Post. A retardant base is located at Spanish Ranch in Cuyama Valley. Structure protection will continue in the Tepusquet and Pine Canyon areas, and along Foothill Road in Cuyama Valley. An evacuation order is in effect for all of Tepusquet Canyon, from Santa Maria Mesa Road to Highway 166, all of Colson and Ruiz Canyons, and the Blazing Saddles community Pine and Buckhorn Canyons, along Forest Roads 11N04 and 11N05, affecting 10 residences. An additional evacuation order issued is in effect for the following areas: Western Boundary: Sierra Madre Road; Southern Boundary: Cottonwood Road; Eastern Boundary: Highway 166; Northern Boundary: Spoor Canyon. This area includes Moon and Eckert Canyons. An Evacuation Warning exists for areas bound by Cottonwood Road and Wasioja Road, and between Highway 166 and Sierra Madre Road. The New Cuyama High School and Benjamin Foxen Elementary School are currently the designated temporary emergency shelter staffed by the Santa Barbara County Chapter of the American Red Cross. If you need assistance with the evacuation and sheltering of animals, please contact the animal hotline at 681-4332. Weather for today will be mostly sunny with temperatures in the lower elevations of 88 - 98 and 80 - 88 on the ridgetops. Ridgetop winds will be north to northeast at 10 - 18 mph in the afternoon with gusts to 20 mph. Tonoght will be mostly clear with lows of 54 - 60 in the lower elevations and 60 - 70 on the ridges. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php CityName=Santa+Maria&state=CA&site=LOX&textField1=34.821&textField2=-120.41 Due to emergency vehicle traffic and congestion on Highway 166, the public is urged to seek an alternate route and to use extra caution when traveling the highway. A well attended community meeting was held tonight at Benjamin Foxen Elementary School in Sisquoc. Speakers included both incident commanders, local sheriff and local fire department representatives. The Fire Investigation Team is asking for the public's assistance to help establish the cause of the La Brea Fire. If you have any information regarding the La Brea please contact Forest Service Fire Investigators at 805-686-5074. Investigators have spoken to witnesses, but are still seeking additional information that may assist with the ongoing investigation. The emergency closure order is still in effect for portions of the Los Padres National Forest in and around the fire. For more information, please contact Fire Information at (805) 961-5770 from 6am-10pm Temporary flight restrictions have been put in place over the fire and surrounding area. http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr map ims/html/cc/scale2/tile 1 2.html Engines: 108 Crews: 59 Dozers: 25 Helicopters: 14 Watertenders: 38 Total personnel: 1980

The USFS used a helitorch to burn large portions of the Coulson Canyon area and attempted to use a large fuel break just east of Tepusquet Canyon road. helitankers and air tankers were used to pre-treat the area to enhance the line.

The north east edge of the fire burned actively until 6pm yesterday sending very large plumes of smoke into the atmosphere.

Photos Courtesy Zimmerman Media LLC, Jeff Zimmerman