Firefighters from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties responded to several vegetation fires that ignited hillsides across the Central Coast starting on June 23.
A 16-acre fire that burned dry brush near the Tanglewood area of the Santa Maria Valley was completely contained by Santa Barbara County Fire Department and Santa Maria Fire Department crews on June 23. The cause of that fire is still under investigation.
The Cebrian Fire, which began the afternoon of June 25 near New Cuyama, scorched around 260 acres of dry vegetation before it was extinguished by the county fire department. The fire was fully contained by that evening and had started because of downed power lines, county Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said on the department’s news line.
Two fires started on June 26, including the Hill Fire in San Luis Obispo County near Santa Margarita. Cal Fire’s San Luis Obispo Unit and SLO County Fire crews responded and issued evacuation orders for the surrounding area. The Hill Fire had scorched 1,200 acres and was 40 percent contained as of the Sun’s press time, according to a June 27 update from Cal Fire.
The other June 26 fire began near Sisquoc on a hillside near a vineyard. The Maria Fire was difficult to contain due to the steep terrain, according to Zaniboni, so bulldozers and air tankers were dispatched to help put out the fire. Although two tankers were initially dispatched, the one flying in from Paso Robles was diverted to aid with the Hill Fire, according to Zaniboni.
The Santa Maria Fire Department dispatched an engine to the Hill Fire and the Maria Fire, Santa Maria Fire Battalion Chief Mike Barneich told the Sun.
According to Santa Barbara County Fire Department Public Information Officer Mike Eliason, the Maria Fire was 100 percent contained at 10 p.m. on June 26 after burning 9.7 acres.
This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 6, 2017.