Gap Fire Evacuation Ordered

[County Emergency Operations Center release]

Effective immediately, a Mandatory Evacuation Order has been issued for all residents between Elwood Canyon Road (including Elwood Ranch Road) to Farren Road North of Cathedral Oaks and Calle Real.

[Clarification to Mandatory Evacuation Order issued 07/04/08 10:48 p.m. from County EOC]: The Winchester Mobile Home Park South of Calle Real is not included in any Evacuation Warning or Order area for the Gap Fire to date. Residents may have received a reverse 911 call regarding the 07/04/08 10:48 pm Mandatory Evacuation Order.

Mandatory Evacuations remain in place for the areas of:

• Hidden Valley at the top of 154 and the Trout Club.
• North of Cathedral Oaks Road from San Marcos Road west to Glen Annie Road.
• West Camino Cielo, west of Highway 154, including Kinevan Road, the Haney Tract, Painted Cave and Windemere.
• Glen Annie and La Patera Canyon areas.

Residents will not be allowed into the areas designated as Mandatory Evacuation areas until further notice.

An American Red Cross Evacuation Center has been established at San Marcos High School at 4750 Hollister Avenue at the intersection of Turnpike Road and Hollister Avenue.

Evacuation Warning remains in effect for the area of:

San Marcos Road to Highway 154 North of Cathedral Oaks Road in addition to Glen Annie Road to Elwood Canyon Road (including Elwood Ranch Road) North of Cathedral Oaks Road.

Residents in Evacuation Warning Area should remain alert and prepared to leave if so ordered.

Residents are advised to stay alert for additional information by listening to County Government cable TV station Channel 20 , or the following AM or FM radio “Stations of Choice” for Emergency Public Information or to other local television stations.

Evacuation Orders remaining in place include:

AM Stations

• KTMS-990
• KUHL-1410
• KZSB-1290

FM Stations

• KCSB-91.9
• KSPE-94.5 (Spanish)
• KSYV-96.7
• KTYD-99.9
• KSBL-101.7
• KRAZ-105.9

Also, San Marco Pass Radio is available at 1040-AM

The public can also go online to County of Santa Barbara website for more information or call (805) 961-5770.

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Other Announcements

Animal Services Information

If the public is in need of assistance with animals call the Animal Hotline at (805) 681-4332. Please do not bring animals to Earl Warren Showgrounds, they are no longer accepting animals.

The Los Padres National Forest Information Center, which is handling calls for the Gap Fire as well as the Basin Complex (Monterrey County) and the Indians Fire, can still be reached at (805) 961-5770.

In addition to the call centers, information on the Gap Fire burning north of Goleta, is also available at www.countyofsb.org and www.inciweb.org, as well as on local cable channel 20 (CSBTV).

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Additional Mask Distribution Information: Saturday, July 5th

Direct Relief International (DRI), in cooperation with the Santa Barbara County Health Department and the City of Goleta will continue distributing free NIOSH N-95 face masks to residents who cannot avoid outdoor exposure to the wild land fire smoke generated by the Gap Fire.

Distribution will be from 12 p.m. 3 p.m. Saturday, July 5, at the Camino Real Marketplace Kiosk between Borders and the movie theater.

Dr. Elliot Schulman, Director of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department said it is critical that the masks be fitted properly on the face, so instruction for proper fitting will be included at the distribution site.

“It’s better to avoid exposure, particularly for those with known lung or breathing problems,” said Schulman. “But if you have to be outdoors, especially if you’re doing vigorous activity, it is wise to wear a mask to reduce exposure to inhaled wild land fire smoke.”

It is the tiny, invisible particles that get into the lungs and can cause problems, he said.