The so-called Sherpa Fire in Santa Barbara County, about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles, had burned through about 7,100 acres by early Saturday and firefighters had contained about a quarter of the blaze, Santa Barbara County said on its Twitter feed.
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Anyone in the evacuation area that needs help with animals should call Santa Barbara County Animal Services at 681-4332. These vulnerable groups include people with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children. In addition, officials cautioned that serious respiratory problems like coughing and wheezing were possible for older adults, children and people with heart and lung disease, and advised asthma sufferers to keep quick relief medicine handy.
The fire was expected to continue moving east and northeast and posed an imminent threat to the small community of Chilili, the Tajique area, and the Ponderosa Pine residential area, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.
However, fire information officer Denise Ottaviano said Friday the 26-square-mile fire remains extremely active as hot, dry weather stifles attempts to contain it.
Sundowners, similar to Santa Ana winds, fuel numerous fires in the Santa Barbara County. This allowed the fire to explode in acreage. One structure has been destroyed in the fire.
The fire has damaged agriculture, including avocados, lemons, olives and cattle. The winds and temperatures decreased Friday morning and afternoon, giving firefighters a chance to make some progress during the day.
“The only thing I’m anxious about is the wind”, area resident Manuel Urban told KOAT.com, “because if it picks up, then there’s nothing that is going to stop that fire”. “We back out a little bit and see where we can hold those lines, anticipate where that fire is going to go”.
The fire started on Wednesday near the Sherpa ranch in the Los Padres National Forest – investigators have yet to determine the cause – and scorched through chaparral and tall grass which in some areas have not burned in 60 years.
Another fire erupted on Friday afternoon in northern California. They could not say how many homes were affected or how many were directly threatened.
As many as 12 structures were threatened.
But authorities feared so-called “sundowner” winds, which rush down the mountains in 40 miles per hour gusts, would return by nightfall, complicating efforts to quell the flames. It reopened early Friday morning. The area surrounding the blaze is remote, but there are homes and ranches, including the Circle Bar B Ranch.
“It was really hairy last night when the fire went across El Capitan Ranch”, Tautrim said.
Sheriff Brown said most residents have been compliant with evacuation orders, but a few have refused to leave their properties. The goal is to increase the buffer along the eastern part of the fire and prevent the fire from burning down canyon to the highway. The blaze rages on amidst a heat wave in Southern California, which could make firefighting conditions even worse as temperatures reach the high 90s during the weekend.
A fire in California coastal canyons has grown by thousands of acres and winds are rising as the sun sets. A fleet of planes and helicopters have been brought in to assist the army of firefighters on the ground.
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While the fire continues to burn, Keith and his family will stay at the Wake Center at 300 N. Turnpike Road in Goleta. Campers displaced by the Sherpa Fire were encouraged to find shelter at Cachuma Lake, which is located off Highway 54 in Santa Ynez.
