Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Eric Peterson had some good news to share with the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors at its July 18 meeting—the Alamo Fire near Santa Maria was 100 percent contained, and significant progress had been made against the Whittier Fire.
At 62 percent containment, that blaze continued to burn in the Santa Ynez Mountains south of Lake Cachuma after charring more than 18,000 acres, destroying 46 structures, and damaging seven others. The threat to neighborhoods, infrastructure, and businesses prompted California Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County on July 16.
Peterson said firefighters were aided by cooler, more humid weather while working to control the blaze.
“We’re now pretty optimistic that we’ve seen the worst of this fire,” he said during the meeting. “There’s a lot of fire inside the line, but the perimeters of the fire are looking pretty good. … The really active fire activity is now behind us.”
Several evacuation orders and warnings were lifted on the morning of July 18 and some roads were re-opened, including Paradise Road, Highway 154, West Camino Cielo to the Winchester Gun Club, and all of Stagecoach Road and Cold Springs, according to a Forest Service press release.
The Cachuma Village evacuation order remained in place, the release stated, but evacuation orders in several areas were downgraded to warnings, including areas from Calle Real north to West Camino Cielo and from Winchester Canyon Road to El Capitan Ranch Road. Road closures remained in place for West Camino Cielo, from Winchester Gun Club on the east side of the mountains to Refugio Road on the west side.
There were nearly 2,000 personnel helping to fight the Whittier Fire as of July 18. According to a July 17 release, resources included 144 fire engines, 16 helicopters, 35 water tenders, and 18 bulldozers.
Another vegetation fire started burning near Zaca Mesa Winery on July 17. Peterson said it scorched about 50 acres and diverted personnel from the Whittier Fire.
“They’ll be mopping up there for a day or so, but we were able to make quick work of that fire,” he said. “I think it goes without saying, but we all need to buckle up for a very busy fire season.”
County supervisors decided to review and consider the county’s policy on controlled burns in preparation for next year’s fire season after 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino asked Peterson about the matter.
“I think it’s safe to say that we would love to be able to do controlled burns,” Peterson said. “It’s not for lack of trying, and I think that this whole episode this year is ample evidence that we would probably be well served to do more of that.”
Santa Barbara County’s wildfires were just a few burning alongside more than 630 California fires that started in a one-week period, according to Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott, who addressed the growing issue of the state’s wildfires at a Whittier Fire press briefing on July 17.
“Literally, within the last week or a week ago, we had what we think is almost a record number of fires in one week,” Pimlott said. “We’re in this fire season for the long haul.”
Due to the sudden outburst, Pimlott said, fire services are moving resources and re-deploying personnel to meet new threats. The state is now “ramping up” to adequately compete with fire season, Pimlott said at the briefing.
Mark von Tillow, an incident commander with the Forest Service, said at the briefing that although fire injuries have been limited, there have been “a few hundred” poison oak cases treated among the fighters, most of whom later returned to the line. There were also several cases of heat illness, according to von Tillow, but those have diminished since cooler temperatures hit the area.
Randy Moore with the Forest Service’s Region 5 said he was impressed with the efforts he witnessed from first responders, volunteers, and community members. In the case of Whittier, Moore said, firefighters worked in extreme heat as a wave of warmer than usual temperatures hit the area and swelled the fire.
“I want to say thank you to the partnership and cooperation we’ve had with the entire community,” Moore said. “Whether you’re looking at a federal fire, whether you’re looking at state resources, local resources, volunteers or cooperators, the relationships have been absolutely outstanding.”
This article appears in Jul 20-27, 2017.