Cameras on Santa Ynez Peak nine miles northwest of Goleta recorded these images Sunday between 10 a.m. and 2:21 p.m. PDT. As you can see the fire burned up to the peak which has many electronic sites, various radio repeaters, transmission towers, and cell phone facilities. The fire caused the commercial electricity to be interrupted at the site, but the tower these cameras are on and probably others are being powered by emergency generators.
The cameras are operated by the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN), a University of California San Diego partnership project led by the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.
This camera was hit by fire retardant, which covered the lens.
All of the articles we have written about the fire are tagged “Whittier Fire” and can be found here, with the most recent at the top.
The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings for areas in Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, and California. A Fire Weather Watch is in effect for a portion of eastern Idaho.
The map was current as of 9:50 a.m. MDT on Sunday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts.
Above: A camera on Santa Ynez Peak captured this image of the Whittier Fire at 11:11 a.m. PDT July 9, 2017.
(Originally published at 8:35 a.m. PDT July 9, 2017)
(Updated at 5:51 p.m. PDT July 9, 2017)
The Whittier Fire has been spreading very rapidly through very old, decadent, thick brush since it started at about 1:45 p.m. Saturday near Lake Cachuma six miles southeast of Santa Ynez in southern California.
Sunday morning’s National Situation Report said 20 structures have been destroyed, and the resources assigned include 7 hand crews, 32 engines, and 11 helicopters, for a total of 400 personnel. These numbers, probably assembled Saturday evening, may be a little behind the power curve for such as rapidly spreading wildfire.
The Whittier Fire near near Lake Cachuma was photographed by a web camera on Santa Ynez Peak at 4:23 p.m. PDT a few hours after it started Saturday afternoon. Click to enlarge.
The Southern California Geographic Area Coordination Center reported Sunday morning that it had burned 7,800 acres.
The weather forecast for the fire area is not extreme, by fire weather standards. It predicts, depending on the elevation and the proximity to the coast, temperatures in the high 80’s to low 90’s, humidities in the low 30’s, and south to southwest winds of about 7 mph gusting to 11.
The red dots represent heat detected on the Whittier Fire by a satellite at 1:13 p.m. MDT July 9, 2017. The fire is probably larger than seen here, but this is what the satellite detected Sunday afternoon. Click to enlarge. When the Incident Management Team releases a map showing the fire perimeter as well as the vicinity, we will show it on the website..
This is one of two wildfires burning in Santa Barbara County. The other is the Alamo Fire about four miles east of Santa Maria.
According to Inciweb late Saturday night, mandatory Evacuation Orders have been issued for:
Highway 154 from Armour Ranch Road on the west to Paradise Road on the east;
W. Camino Cielo from the Winchester Gun Club east to Highway 154;
Kinevan Road, and;
Farren Road
Hwy 154 is closed from State Route 246 to Foothill Road.
Mark Von Tillow’s Type 1 Incident Management Team has been dispatched and should arrive at the fire Sunday.
The Whittier Fire near near Lake Cachuma was photographed by a web camera on Santa Ynez Peak at 6:38 Saturday afternoon. Click to enlarge.
All of the articles we have written about the fire are tagged “Whittier Fire” and can be found here, with the most recent at the top.
Above: 3-D map of the Alamo Fire as determined by a USFS mapping aircraft at 12:30 a.m. PDT July 9, 2017.
(Originally published at 6:35 a.m. PDT July 9, 2017)
The Alamo fire was very active again on Saturday, growing on the east, south, and west sides to within four miles of US Highway 101 and the city of Santa Maria. A mapping flight very early Sunday morning determined that it has burned 23,867 acres. It is possible some grassy areas in a previous fire on the west side burned in the afternoon and then cooled before the heat detectors on the aircraft passed over the fire after midnight early Sunday, so it could be a couple of thousand acres larger.
Evacuations have affected about 200 residences, but there have been no reports of structures being destroyed. CAL FIRE’s Type 1 Incident Management Team led by Brett Gouvea has assumed command of the fire.
Saturday night the resources assigned included 27 hand crews, 38 engines, 4 helicopters, and 613 personnel.
This is one of two wildfires burning in Santa Barbara County. The other is the Whittier Fire about five miles northwest of Goleta.
Map showing the perimeter of the Alamo Fire as determined by a USFS mapping aircraft at 12:30 a.m. PDT July 9, 2017.
Above: Photo of the Whittier Fire at 4:23 p.m. PDT July 8 2017. If you look in the lower left, you’ll see a DC-10 just beginning a retardant drop. Click to enlarge.
A web camera near Santa Ynez, California is taking some fascinating photos of the Whittier Fire that started at about 1:45 p.m. PDT Saturday near Camp Whittier on Hwy 154 near Lake Cachuma approximately seven miles east of Santa Ynez.
The fire is on the Los Padres National Forest. At 6:56 p.m. Saturday they estimated it had burned 330 acres.
Hwy 154 is closed from 246 to State Route 192.
The photos below were acquired around 6:20 p.m. PDT July 8. Click on them to see larger versions.
All of the articles we have written about the fire are tagged “Whittier Fire” and can be found here, with the most recent at the top.
