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Fire Rages into Early Morning in Los Padres, 300 Acres Burn |
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By Tom Schultz
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Sunday, July 01 2007 |
A wildland blaze in the backcountry off Paradise Road Saturday evening drew more than 150 firefighters, as smoke and ash billowed over the mountains and across Santa Barbara.
The Rancho Fire began about 6:30 p.m. along a section of the Santa Ynez River about five miles from Highway 154, in the heart of a popular Los Padres National Forest backcountry recreation area.
 No structures were threatened by the Rancho Fire, authorities said, and no injuries were reported as of midnight. Tom Schultz / SBN
"The first on scene, a Forest Service crew, said the fire was only a quarter-acre," said Capt. Eli Iskow, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. "It started near the riverbed, but then it jumped the road and went up the hillside. The fire moved really fast."
Slight winds quickly pushed the blaze, which flared up across dry brush that rapidly ignited amid a weekend-long "Red Flag Alert" -- a general high-fire warning for south county issued Friday by several area fire agencies. High temperatures, low humidity, significantly low rainfall this season and an ongoing potential for sundowner winds prompted the caution.
The "Red Flag Alert" will be extended through 8 a.m. Monday, Capt. Iskow said late Saturday.
Authorities said they do not yet have an anticipated time of containment of the wildland blaze.
"This isn't over," Capt. Iskow said. "Unless the winds kick in, we'll get a handle on it the next couple of days. It's all about the wind and the conditons, but the people in the front country need to be on guard."
As crews responded with heavy equipment, ground crews set off on foot up the steep terrain, and aircraft circled overhead Saturday near sunset, Sheriff's, fire and CHP officials removed day visitors to the area and considered evacuating overnight campers, as well as the entire Los Prietos Boys Camp.
 Smoke obscures the moon over Santa Barbara Saturday night. Photo by Tom Schultz / SBN
The cause of the fire was still under investigation.
"We have the point of origin determined," Iskow said. "There is a good chance that they will figure out very soon what caused this."
The U.S. Forest Service is overseeing this part of the investigation.
Officials stressed the South Coast was not in danger. Highway 154 remained open; however, Paradise Road was closed below the fire by 7:30 p.m.
"The fire is moving moderately to the east," Capt. Iskow said. "Please advise all people to stay away from this area."
Authorities requested everyone steer clear to allow safe passage of fire crews.
A wide trail of smoke appeared to spread west toward Goleta and then turn south and creep out over the ocean toward the Channel Islands on Saturday. The setting sun cast an eerie orange hue across town.
As the fire grew, heavy smoke obscured mountain views in Santa Barbara, where residents -- initially unaware of its location -- wondered if flames might suddently jump the ridge of the Santa Ynez Mountains that overlook the city.
"There was just a ton of smoke spewing out of there," said Battalion Chief John Ahlman, of the Santa Barbara City Fire Department. "But there's no threat of it coming toward town -- at least, for the time being."
Nervous residents -- some fearing a reoccurence of the devastating Painted Cave Fire, and others aware of the wildland inferno which took out more than 220 homes in South Lake Tahoe this week -- flooded the County's emergency line.
"The 9-1-1 system was overloaded because of calls," Chief Alhman said. "If people need fire information, they need to call the 2-1-1 system."
Chief Ahlman warned: "I, myself, feel we just need to be very careful and stay very alert."
By midnight, the fire had calmed a bit at its lower levels, but officials remained wary of the potential for high winds overnight, Iskow said. "Barring any major sundowners, we'll keep it where it is."
Helping to patrol and douse the flames, authorities said, were a reported four helicopters and two air tankers, the latter of which swooped low and dropped a red fire retardant.
Crews had at least three bulldozers and 20 fire engines at the scene, and expected more firefighters to arrive overnight.
"There are many more resources ordered that will be arriving overnight and into the morning," Iskow said. "Many more will be coming over then next 12 to 24 hours."
— Dawn Hobbs contributed to this report.
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