Evacuation Warnings in Effect as Lake Fire Burns Thousands of Acres

Wildfire Breaks out Friday Afternoon Near Zaca Lake, Burning More Than 4,600 Acres

The Lake Fire started Friday, July 5, 2024, near Zaca Lake in Los Padres National Forest north of Los Olivos. | Credit: Scott Safechuck/Santa Barbara County Fire

The Lake Fire — a wildfire that started Friday afternoon north of Los Olivos near Zaca Lake in Los Padres National Forest — has grown to 4,673 acres as of Saturday morning, according to CalFire, triggering evacuation warnings in the surrounding areas.

The fire was first reported around 3:45 p.m. on Friday on Santa Lucia Road, according to Santa Barbara County Fire spokesperson Scott Safechuck, who said that County Fire, Los Padres Fire, and Cal Fire were fighting the fire, which remains at 0 percent containment. Both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters were responding to the fire.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has issued evacuation warnings for the areas of Figueroa Mountain Road from the Forest Station to Chamberlin Ranch, as well as areas north of Zaca Lake Road, east of Foxen Canyon Road, and south of the Sisquoc River, in response to the wildfire. (For sheltering support, call (805) 678-3073; for animal evacuations, call (805) 698-0212.) On Friday afternoon, county firefighters evacuated Zaca Lake Resort.

“A large number of fire resources are on scene and responding to this rapidly developing wildfire,” according to the U.S. government’s Incident Information System, aka InciWeb. “Firefighters are aggressively suppressing the fire. The communities and resources affected are a top priority.”

The Lake Fire had burned 4,673 acres as of Saturday morning, July 6, according to CalFire.

Temperatures in the area were in the 90s on Friday with very low relative humidity low. Excessive heat warnings were issued by the National Weather Service for several parts of the county and remain in effect for the area through Wednesday, July 10.

The cause of the Lake Fire remains under investigation. The fire is burning in the same area as the Zaca Fire, which started on July 4, 2007, and burned 240,207 acres over the course of two months. At the time, it was the second largest fire in California’s recorded history, though it has since been bumped to 12th place.