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.
Above: 3-D map of the Alamo Fire looking west, mapped Friday night.
(Updated at 6:18 p.m. PDT July 8, 2017)
We have an updated map of the Alamo Fire that has now grown to within four miles of Santa Maria, California and US Highway 101.
Map showing the approximate perimeter of the Alamo Fire at 1:36 p.m. PDT July 8, 2017. This is preliminary data is is not official.
Our very, very unofficial estimates using heat data collected by sensors on a satellite, show that it has burned APPROXIMATELY 23,000 acres as of 1:38 p.m. PDT July 8, 2017.
KSBY reports that evacuation orders have been issued for Blazing Saddle Drive, Buckhorn Ridge, White Rock Lane, Colson Canyon Road, Pine Canyon, and Tepusquet Road south of Blazing Saddle Drive to Santa Maria Mesa Road.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported Saturday at 3:05 p.m. that the Alamo Fire had grown to 19,000 acres.
The perimeter of the fire shown in the map below was derived from data collected by heat sensors on a satellite at 3:18 a.m. July 8. At that time the fire was about 13,000 acres, but since then the fire has been very active and produced a pyrocumulus cloud over the fire which is a sign of very intense burning.
The perimeter of the Alamo Fire derived from heat detected by a satellite at 3:18 a.m. PDT July 8, 2017.
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(Originally published at 11:33 a.m. PDT July 8, 2017)
During the first 24 hours after the Alamo Fire started at 3:43 p.m. PDT Thursday July 6 east of Santa Maria, California it spread over several hundred acres. But winds Friday afternoon caused it to grow substantially and by late Friday night it was mapped at about 5,900 acres. It continued to grow over the next 12 hours and could be quite a bit larger as this is written just after noon on Saturday.
Mandatory evacuations are in effect for some areas near Tepusquet Canyon.
The fire is 7 miles east of Santa Maria and US Highway 101.
The wind is expected to shift Saturday afternoon to come out of the northwest.
Map of the Alamo Fire. The data was current as of late Friday night, July 7, 2017.
Air tankers are reloading at the tanker base at the Santa Maria Airport. Live cams with views of the ramp are available here and here.
When a news van from NBC4 in Los Angeles caught fire yesterday while the crew was covering a wildfire in Placerita Canyon, it seemed likely that the two events were related, but “it appears” they were not, according to the TV station.
Above: the Lake Fire burns near a dozer line near Castaic Lake in Southern California. Screen grab from Los Angeles County Fire Department video.
(Originally published at 11:01 p.m. PDT June 17, 2017)
Firefighters in Southern California are battling a wildfire that started east of Interstate 5 near Castaic Lake north of Santa Clarita. As the sun was setting Saturday evening firefighters estimated that it had burned at least 1,000 acres, spreading from County land near the lake into the Angeles National Forest .
The fire was first reported at about 2 p.m. PDT on Saturday. Two small outbuildings were reportedly destroyed.
Some firefighters were transported across the lake in boats, according to the Angeles National Forest.
Map showing the approximate location of the Lake Fire north of Castaic Lake in Southern California, Jun e17, 2017.Lake Fire, June 17, 2017. Los Angeles County FD photo.
Now we know that the tree had been previously identified as being hazardous but it was thought to be outside the work area.
Alder Crew #4 was working on Ishi Pishi Road towards Somes Bar picking up piles of limbs and brush from the previous two days of work to feed into a chipper. The machine was running at full throttle when the crew supervisor saw the tree falling and yelled a warning, which was not heard by the entire crew due to the noise from the chipper.
The supervisor attempted to call the Fortuna Emergency Communications Center on his hand held radio but could not make contact. He got in the crew carrier truck and drove about 400 yards to a location from which he could talk to the ECC with the vehicle’s mobile radio.
Mr. Beck received a fatal blow from the tree causing blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and torso.
The tree was a 105-year-old, 146-foot Douglas-fir, with a 21.5-inch diameter (DBH). It weighed approximately 3,000 pounds and had a downhill lean of about 46 degrees. Mr. Beck was hit by a portion of the tree that was about 18 feet from the tree top.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Eric. Typos or errors, report them HERE.
