La Brea Fire 8-18
The fire in the San Rafael Wilderness area has now burned about 88,650 acres and is 75% contained. A significant portion of the rapid increase in the acreage is do to back fires.
Investigators now say that the La Brea Fire was started by a cooking fire at a drug trafficking camp.
InciWeb Notes: “An evacuation order is still in place for the 23 threatened residences on Foothill Road in Cotton Canyon. Two structures have been destroyed by the La Brea Fire one was the non-operational White Oaks Ranger Station and the other a hunter’s cabin.”
There have been 2 minor injuries fighting the fire, which has already cost $6.3 million.
Currently there are 126 engines, 56 crews, 30 dozers, 5 air tankers, 12 helicopters, 59 water tenders and 2,078 total personnel assigned to the fire.
The Martin Mars water scoop aircraft is now on station, using Cachuma Lake for refilling its tanks.
Links: The KEYT La Brea Fire article, the Santa Barbara Independent La Brea Fire page, InciWeb La Brea page with a map, KSBY has videos and the Enplan Wildfire Viewer, which used satellite sensors to spot fires.
[For more information go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Fires” for all of the posts related to wildfires on this site.]
