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May 10, 2009 PM Updates - Firefighters Approaching Full Containment / Threat Still Exists
One of the most amazing things about this fire was the use of the DC-10. 12,000 gallons dispersed over 3/4 mile long... what an awesome tool... and it's called an air "Tanker"...
The past few days have resulted in increased marine influence, lower temperatures, higher humidity and a reduction in down canyon winds, enabling firefighters to get a good handle on containing the Jesusita Fire.
as of 17:30 hours on 05/10/2009 (Sunday PM)
55% Contained
8700 acres burned
31 homes destroyed
47 homes damaged
02 outbuildings destroyed
00 outbuildings damaged
Cost so far... 7.4 Million Dollars
Full containment expected by 05/13/2009
as of 23:00 hours on 05/10/2009 (Sunday PM)
Note: These figures significantly changed over the course of just a few hours. As more intel arrives from field observers through the Situations Status Unit, many of these figures will continue to change.
65% Contained
8700 acres burned
77 homes destroyed
22 homes damaged
60 outbuildings destroyed
69 outbuildings damaged
Cost so far... 9 Million Dollars
Full containment expected by 05/13/2009
May 7th AM Update / Day 3: The worst has happened to Santa Barbara. An area known as Mission Canyon blew up yesterday about 15:30 hours when the down canyon winds kicked in, commonly known as Santa Ana or sundowners. One engine company was trapped in the garage of a house that they w...
Dozens of homes have been completely destroyed, possibly as many as 35. The local Red Cross reported that they had 131 people at their shelters last night. A total of 500 acres have been estimated for the fire with 3,500 homes and 100 businesses threatened. A total of 13,575 people have now been evacuated with gasline fed fires still visible in the foothills of Santa Barbara where homes were consumed.
Hot temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds are expected again this afternoon, fanning the fire and creating the possibility for more destruction. The fire is currently being pushed back into areas already burned. Sundowners are expected to return, reversing the wind direction. The forecasted temperature for today is 99F with 60-70mph wind gusts expected.
May 6th PM Update / Day 2:
Mission Canyon: Two firefighters with serious burns have been confirmed to have received the burn injuries on the Jesusita Fire that is currently burning out of control, taking out more than 20 homes as of 19:00 hours on day 2.
rapidly burning wind event
20 mph steady winds
40-70 mph wind gusts
record level 102 F
low humidity in the 20% range and less
What's been ordered as of 17:00 hours:
- 20 type 1 enroute (100 engines and 400 firefighters)
Priorities:
- evacuation is number one priortity
- second priority are structures
mandatory evacuation orders have doubled in size
Open gas and water lines have been found due to broken pipes from houses that were burned down to the ground. Residents are being asked through the media to turn off their water and gas services before evacuating to conserve water and minimize gas fed fires.
Crews coming from all over the state to help out thanks to mutual plans. Santa Barbara County is in an extreme emergency with furthered evacuation warnings occurring.
May 5th / Day 1:
What's typical for the Santa Barbara front country is to have the wind blow on shore until about 17:00 and then the wind shifts to down canyon winds blowing off shore. The heat from the desert and inland areas rush toward the cooler ocean water creating severe winds. Tonight it was estimated that there could be 80 mph down canyon wind gusts.
One of the coolest tools that the helicopters use now are night vision goggles. LA County Fire Departments Blackhawk's are coming up tonight to do night drops. They also have the FLIR built in to the helicopter. This really makes a difference during night ops when high tension power lines are hidden in the darkness and smoke. This is incredibly dangerous right now.
California’s wildfire season has begun, and Santa Barbara’s residents and firefighters are once again embroiled in a battle with surging flames and soaring smoke. The Jesusita Fire is now fully engulfing the mountains that frame the so-called “American Riviera” — much like they did last November, when the Tea Fire consumed more than 200 foothill homes, and last July, when the Gap Fire threatened thousands of homes above Goleta while burning nearly 10,000 acres. Winds are once again the biggest pusher of the flames, and they are shifting back and forth — they began blowing uphill, then shifted to down-canyon, but seem to be moving back uphill this afternoon. more...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dennis Brown on
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My thoughts & prayers are with these two brothers and to the rest be safe out there
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Permalink Reply by Beverly on
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All of you be safe and go home to your families when this is contained. We will pray for rain and for the winds to stop. Of course our prayers are also for the full recovery of those injured ffs.
Just read an article that the "Governator" is threatening to cut ff jobs and close stations....is he going to get out and fight fire instead of push pencils? Sounds like you guys have a bigger problem than the fires.
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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on
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Take care Jake!!! We'll be prayin for ya!!!
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Mike, sorry to hear about the injuries!!! I hope those are the only ones and that the make a fast recovery.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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May 11th... seems that the investigators have now found what they think was the cause of the fire... weed abatement tools is the source investigators are considering... Fires are started from lightning or by humans, this was more than likely started due to human error...
May 10, 2009 9:33 PM
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - The wildfire that has scorched 13 square miles and destroyed dozens of homes was apparently sparked by a power tool being used to clear brush, investigators said Sunday.
The so-called Jesusita Fire broke out Tuesday, in an area known locally as ''Inspiration Point,'' next to the Jesusita Trail in the hills above this scenic coastal city.
Fire officials said someone, or possibly a group of people, was clearing vegetation on what appeared to be private land near the trail around the time the fire erupted.
''Any time you use any power tool, there's always a possibility, especially if the conditions are right,'' said Joe Waterman, the overall fire commander from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. more...
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How did the firefighters get burned?
The local Santa Barbara CBS News Affiliate reported that there are more than 3,400 firefighters battling the Jesusita Fire. Three of them were injured as they tried to save the homes of complete strangers.
Spyglass Ridge Road above Santa Barbara on Wednesday night was an inferno. As the flames kicked up, there was a warning on the firefighters' radio, "On Spyglass, we've got winds thirty to forty miles an hour."
Eventually the wind would gust up to sixty miles per hour, forcing most firefighters to retreat from the area as the flames leapt across the road.
"I think I'm gonna start pulling my people outta here," was heard over the radio.
But two highly experienced Ventura County firefighters, Ron Topolinski and Robert Lopez, were trapped. They took cover in a house, but but it caught fire as flames engulfed the entire neighborhood.
The two firemen ran from the house, but both of them collapsed from the heat and the smoke.
A third firefighter, Captain Brian Bulger, spotted them as he was leaving in his SUV. With no breathing apparatus, he rescued the other two.
"It's heroic, and it's something I think any of us, given the same position, would have done. It just happened to be that at that specific time and moment Captain Bulger was in that position," said Captain Tony O'Hagan of the Ventura County Fire Department.
The three men were airlifted to the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks. Lopez had second and third degree burns to 15 percent of his body, Topolinski was 10 percent burned.
Captain Bulger was treated for smoke inhalation and released from the hospital Friday. The other two men underwent surgery but are expected to recover from their burns.
Bill Pasich, whose home was saved, was singing their praises, "Until you're standing by them, seeing what they're experiencing, you can't understand what they go through."
"Every time I see a firefighter coming in, I am just so appreciative that they are there, because when they sacrifice themselves, what they've done is save potentially tens or hundreds of other people," said Dr. Peter Grossman, director of the Grossman Burn Center.
And that makes a huge difference when the hillsides are burning.
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