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Despite aggressive firefight, La Brea fire grows

By COLBY FRAZIER — Aug. 11, 2009

Update: Aug. 11, 2:30 p.m. — Authorities have upgraded an evacuation warning for a lightly populated area of the North County near the La Brea fire to an evacuation order.

The mandatory order to leave covers an area bounded by Sierra Madre Road, Cottonwood Road, Highway 166 and Spoor Canyon, including Moon and Eckert canyons. Fire officials have contacted residents at the 14 occupied ranches in the area.

Authorities also established a new evacuation warning area for land bounded by Cottonwood and Wasioja roads between Highway 166 and Sierra Madre Road. Residents in that area should prepare to evacuate should an order be issued. More information is available by calling the U.S. Forest Service information line at 961-5770 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

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Update: Aug. 11, 9:45 a.m. — As the La Brea fire grew to an estimated 20,622 acres by this morning, emergency officials issued the first evacuation warning for the remote blaze burning in the San Rafael Wilderness.

A total of 14 ranches are affected by the warning, which is not considered a mandatory order to evacuate but an advisory notice to landowners to prepare to evacuate. The area affected by the warning is bounded on the west by Sierra Madre Road, on the south by Cottonwood Road, on the east by Highway 166 and on the north by Spoor Canyon.

The area includes Moon and Eckert canyons. Authorities have contacted homeowners in the area and residents are moving livestock as necessary. Fire officials said the area is very lightly populated.

Containment is estimated at 10 percent on the fire, which is burning in steep and largely inaccessible terrain that is choked with 87-year-old vegetation.

Fire officials urged motorists to avoid Highway 166 if at all possible, as the roadway is being heavily used by firefighting equipment. An emergency closure of the Los Padres National Forest remains in effect for areas in and near the fire area.

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Fed by 87-year-old fuels and hot conditions, the La Brea fire grew yesterday by over 4,000 acres, consuming a total of 14,778 acres of rugged land in the San Rafael Wilderness.

Despite the fire’s rapid pace since breaking out on Saturday afternoon, it has remained relatively remote, charring land about 22 miles east of Santa Maria and 15 miles west of New Cuyama.

As of last night, fire officials said no structures were threatened, though the fire is far from contained and is expected to grow.

“They still are expecting it to be pretty active,” said Juanita Freel, a public information officer with the Los Padres National Forest Service.

Freel said temperatures around the fire hovered in the 90s yesterday and humidity levels topped out at 25 percent. Higher humidity expected to arrive today could help slow the fire’s growth, she said.

The remote location of the fire has spurred crews to set up remote campsites closer to the fire’s edge, Freel said, a process known as “coyoteing.”

Towering smoke plumes were visible in the Santa Ynez Valley yesterday, reminiscent of the Zaca Fire in 2007, which ravaged the backcountry for over a month and scorched 240,207 acres.

Due to the smoke, the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District issued an air quality watch, meaning those who have preexisting lung conditions should be cautious, especially if smoke can be smelled.

An emergency closure is in place for a portion of the forest, stretching east from the intersection of Sierra Madre Ridge Road and Highway 166 to McPherson Peak, and south to the Sisquoc River. The closure includes the Colson area and all campgrounds in the region have been evacuated.

Freel said Highway 166 is plugged with fire equipment, and travelers should avoid this road if possible.

The number of personnel battling the fire grew from 650 on Sunday to just over 1,000 last night. Seven helicopters and seven water and retardant-dropping aircraft have joined the firefight. There are also 23 engines, seven bulldozers and 34 hand crews working the fire. Freel said she didn’t know if additional resources were on order, but she assumed so.

So far, the fire hasn’t appeared to show signs of slowing, growing in nearly every direction, and even jumping Sierra Madre Road, Freel said.

“It’s gone basically every direction,” she said. “It’s holding fairly well on the northeast section, but it’s [grown] to the south and north.”

Investigators set up a tip-line and encourage anyone with information about how the fire started to come forward. The number is 686-5074.

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