On Wednesday the Alisal Fire, 11 miles west of Goleta, California spread two miles further west and one mile to the east. On the east side it is still spreading through the five year old footprint of the Sherpa Fire.
Air tankers took advantage of decreasing winds Wednesday to apply retardant on the north side, reinforcing the West Camino Cielo road out to Gaviota on the west side. Crews conducted a firing operation along the road later in the afternoon.
Additional evacuations were ordered Wednesday night for the area west of Arroyo Hondo to the intersection of Hwy. 101 and Hwy. 1, including Vista Del Mar School and Gaviota Beach. The ranch formerly owned by President Ronald Reagan, known as the Western White House, is also under evacuation orders. (More information about evacuations.)
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Alisal Fire, including the most recent, click HERE.
Thursday morning fire officials said the fire had burned 16,801 acres. Resources assigned to the fire Wednesday evening included 31 hand crews, 143 engines, and 8 helicopters for a total of 1,306 personnel, an increase of 541. Management of the fire has transitioned to a California Type 1 Incident Management team led by Jerry McGgowan.
On Thursday firefighters are going to be faced with wind directions shifting about every six hours. Southwest winds are likely to develop in the morning, which may turn southeasterly in the early afternoon, before becoming northwesterly Wednesday evening. The relative humidity will be in the low 20s, but will rise to the mid-50s Wednesday night. Light and mostly onshore winds are in the forecast for Friday.
Below is a timelapse video of the Alisal Fire — about five hours compressed into 30 seconds. It was shot by the AlertWildfire camera on Santa Ynez Peak, looking west-southwest, from 2:20 p.m until 7 p.m., October 13, 2021.
On the Marble Cone Fire in the late 70s, our Type I Teams were “ordered” by the Governor (J. Brown) and USFS, to save the Catholic Monastary that Jerry Brown spent time at, “no matter what it took.” So, now I’m wondering if the fire personnel assigned to this fire will put the same resources into saving The Western White House/Reagan Ranch?
We put so much pink retardant on the monastary that I’ll bet they’re still scrapping it off, some 40 years later, but we saved it from the fire.
Looking at AFF, there are 3 T1 helicopters working that area now.
Wind, and low live fuel moisture (for 5 year old brush in the burn scar) is what is spreading this fire. Prescribed burns use better, more defined “prescriptions” to control the desired effects (most of the time). Prescribed burning, when done correctly, is a good way to reduce fuels.
Do the fire is reburning a 5 year old fire scarred area. Does this say anything about the advisability of prescribed fire to prevent wildfire?
Hello Martha.
In my opinion, your question is too broad.
Using prescribed fire as a hazard reduction tactic is quite effective. Fire scars can be good fire breaks whether they are prescribed fires or wildfires. However, burned landscapes grow back – Mother Nature is really good at this. The issue is the fuel type being managed. For example: grass. It grows back every year. In some cases I can burn a grass field twice in less than 12 months – once in the spring to remove last season’s thatch and again in the fall after this summer’s regrowth has died and dried out. The 2nd burn might not be as intense, but a fire could still spread through the burn scar.
Now compare this to a forested fuel type that may require 50 0r 100 years to return to maturity. If I burn a patch of Boreal Forest, and it burns relatively clean, that scar could be an effective fuel break for a few decades. Keep in mind that this area is not completely devoid of fuel so a fire can still occur in burn scars. New fires in recently burned areas typically burn with less intensity, thus, they are more manageable from a suppression perspective.
So….wildfire management is very complex and challenging given the thousands of variables that can occur due to Weather, Topography, and Fuel. Throw in human values on the landscape and the complexity goes through the roof. Prescribed fire is just another tool in our toolbox. It works when applied appropriately. Sometimes it has to be reapplied – appropriately.
I feel like “prevent” is maybe too strong a word, but it does help manage it. When fires hit old burn scars they advance more slowly and are easier to get under control. This fire started in an area that hadn’t burned since the 1950s.