[Update: July 9, 2024, 9:10 a.m.] The Lake Fire has grown to 26,176 acres and is 12 percent contained as of Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire. Work crew numbers have been updated as follows: 2,485 personnel, 11 helicopters, 189 engines, 62 dozers, 39 water tenders, and 70 crews.
[Update: July 8, 2024, 8:20 p.m.] The evacuation order and warning areas for the Lake Fire have been expanded:
- Residents are ordered to evacuate parts of the Figueroa Mountain area immediately: south of Tunnel House at Sisquoc River, east of Figueroa Creek, north of the southern end of Cachuma Mountain, and west of Los Padres National Forest areas. Leave the area immediately.
The evacuation warning expanded to:
- The area of Goat Rock, east of Figueroa Creek, north of the U.S. Forest Service entrance at Happy Canyon Road, and south of Cachuma Mountain.
Also, the front country red flag warning was downgraded to a fire weather warning for the Santa Barbara County interior valley and Santa Ynez Mountains area between Gaviota and San Marcos Pass:
- Fire Weather Watch in effect Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday night for the Santa Barbara County mountains due to a combination of gusty winds, hot and dry conditions, and dry vegetation.
Last, Cal Fire updated the work crew numbers this evening to: 1,837 personnel, one helicopter, 123 engines, 35 dozers, 25 water tenders, and 49 crews. The update notes the red flag warning remains in effect for the fire zone from Tuesday noon to 9 p.m.
[Original Story] As the Lake Fire sparks to the east and south, the fire fight has dug in, with emergency contingency lines growing southward to keep a line between the flames and any structures. Originating near the Zaca Lake, the fire has been moving east into the San Rafael Wilderness, an area with unburned chapparal and forest lands unburned for about the past 70 years.
To the west and southwest, crews spent Sunday night tying into good lines set two days ago, Operations Section Chief Rick Marinelli of the Forest Service said in an update Monday morning. The day’s focus was also on the north, where dozers and hand crews have been incorporating the Sisquoc River drainage into their containment lines. Grown to 21,763 acres and 8 percent containment as of Monday evening, the Lake Fire currently has 1,162 personnel, 10 helicopters, 86 engines, nine dozers, six water tenders, and 29 crews working to suppress the flames.
The mandatory evacuation zone has grown to Figueroa Mountain Road at Junction Camp to the Chamberlin Ranch, an area that includes Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Areas along Foxen Canyon Road from Zaca Lake Road north to the Sisquoc River, including east of Foxen Canyon Road to the 9000 block, are also under evacuation order. An interactive map here can identify addresses in the evacuation zones (both under order to evacuate and those warned that evacuation may become necessary).
The evacuation warning area has grown closer to the town of Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley. Areas east of Calzada Avenue and East Oak Trail Road are advised that an evacuation may become necessary. To the west and north, areas west of Happy Canyon and north of the Sisquoc River are likewise under evacuation warning.
The orange tint to the sunlight on the coastal side of the Santa Ynez Range and the smoke-colored clouds are indeed coming from the Lake Fire, said Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to climb toward 100 degrees in the backcountry, Hall said, and nights could get very warm.
- From noon until 9 p.m. on Tuesday, a red flag warning has been called for interior valleys and mountains, including the Lake Fire area. Gusty winds out of the northwest are expected along with very low humidity.
- Excessive heat warnings due to the continuing heat wave in the interior mountains and valleys are in place through 9 p.m. Saturday.
- A red flag warning due to winds — potential 30-40 mph gusts — and low humidity will go into effect for the mountains and foothills between Gaviota and the San Marcos Pass from Tuesday at 3 p.m. until Wednesday at 3 a.m.
Air quality suffers during large fires, with smoke and ash settling out. Direct Relief distributed more than 1,000 N-95 masks to the county today. The Air Pollution Control District recommends checking monitors locally here and nationally here.
ReadySBC.org reminds that residents in the evacuation warning areas they should prepare now to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Prep all the things that family members, including pets, might need, as well as important documents. And residents can always leave if they feel uncomfortable.
- For evacuation information or to sign up for notices, go to ReadySBC.org.
- A shelter is set up at the Veterans Hall in Solvang (1745 Mission Dr.) or call (805) 678-0373.
- For large animal evacuation support, call (805) 698-0212.
- Small animals can be taken to the county shelters.
Due to the volume of calls, emergency managers ask that the general public not dial 9-1-1 for non-emergency information.
