The Whittier Fire was 87 percent contained as of July 25, according to a "final update" from the U.S. Forest Service. At that time, the fire had burned 18,430 acres and destroyed 16 residences and 30 outbuildings; 511 personnel responded to the fire. The cause of the blaze was still under investigation.
The update explained that command of the Whittier Fire response would transition from the California Interagency Incident Management Team 3 to a local incident management team on the morning of July 26, after the Sun's press time.
Jay Nichols, the public information officer for Incident Management Team 3, told the Sun on July 21 that the cost of responding to the blaze so far was $30.5 million.
"That includes manpower, equipment, contract equipment, aircraft, retardant—it's all inclusive," Nichols said. "The infrastructure that goes in place for the Incident Command Post, we're feeding all the crews, we're providing shower units, laundry services, logistics, plans, air operations, finance, training, public information, vehicle maintenance, supplies, porta-potties, and overhead."
The Whittier Fire saw a massive collaborative response from local, state, and federal agencies including the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, Santa Barbara city Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, the California Conservation Corps, the California Department of Corrections, Cal Fire, and U.S. Forest Service. More than 1,000 personnel were on hand responding to the blaze for much of its duration. The Sheriff's Office handled evacuations in areas threatened by the fire, and all evacuation orders were lifted on July 23.
The fire began on July 8 just near Camp Whittier, Nichols explained, and all the buildings that were lost to the fire were burned in its early stages. Fire crews defended residences, agricultural land, power infrastructure managed by PG&E and SoCal Edison, communications infrastructure, endangered species' habitat, and protected archaeological sites. The agricultural land alone is estimated at a value of $137 million, Nichols said.
"Our primary concern is to provide for firefighter and public safety, that's what we do first," he said. "But I think if you look at the cost of infrastructure, it's pretty extensive."
The fire spread far enough west along the Santa Ynez Mountains that it reached land burned by the Sherpa Fire last year, Nichols said, as well as some areas east affected by the Gap Fire in 2008 to the east.
Incident Management Team 3 anticipated full containment of the Whittier Fire by the end of July, Nichols said, but added that locals should remain vigilant regarding wildfires.
"If people live in a fire-prone area, they need to be prepared and aware," he said. "We're coming close to the end of an incident, but it's just the beginning of fire season."
