Sundowners are back

C

C-Hawk

New member
And so are the fires with the Jesusito Fire

The sundowner winds have been blowing and bringing the temps up this week, it was just a matter of time before we had another fire.

A small fire- ~150 acres as I write this, but several are being evac'ed out.
 
Now 500+ acres, burning houses. Fire engines from San Diego to San Francisco are responding. Repeat of the Tea Fire from last year, deja vu all over again. Yikes :disgust Did someone say that it is only May?
 
Yes- Several of my co-workers had to leave early today in order to gather their valuables and get out.
The winds are blowing towards the city.
Our thoughts and prayers for the ones located in the fire zone.

Roger
 
Roger, how close is your residence to being threatened?

Sam, have you been mobilized to assist in the fire suppression efforts?

Certainly wishing the two of you and your families the best!
 
Dave,

I live in Carpinteria- about 15 miles east of the fire, work at UCSB about 10 miles west of the fire- it took me over 2 hours to get home yesterday on account of the da#* looky-loos taking pictures as they drive by.

This fire is in the area between the Gap Fire and the Tea Fire of last year, so the only way it will go is up into the mountains or down into town-- seems to like the town.
It is now over 1300 acres and growing. There has been little effort for containment-- mostly trying to secure the town and keep from losing any more homes.
I was talking with my co-worker and he was able to get to his house this morning- no police in the area and he had to chase some unknowns out of the area--- looked as if they were looking to loot some homes.

The current temp is 90f and light wind- the afternoon winds have not started as yet.

So far we haven't had any smoke in Carpinteria, the sundowner winds are blowing it out to the islands and back into the Oxnard/Ventura area.

Pray for the Firemen that have been injured (approx. 12), some have been taken to the Grosman Burn Center.
 
Hi Dave, no I did not get sent. I am currently covering behind another chief who was sent. :cry
I guess you cannot go to every one.
@ 1930 the update was 2,700 acres w/ 10% containment.
75 structures damaged, still assessing. It has not come down into the main part of the town yet.
 
3500 acres and entering the city. The afternoon winds are starting to pick up again.
The weather has been a little cooler this morning, with a cool ocean breeze, but back up to 100f in town and the winds have turned.

My project is like a ghost town today- most of the contract workers were told to leave the motels last night and most of our local workers are busy gathering their belongings in preparation of leaving--- kind of reminds me of the 1968 slogan in Seattle--- "last one to leave turn out the lights"

In addition to the fire, we just had a 4.2 in Ojai about 20 miles away.
Maybe we'll break away from California and form our own State :D

Cheers,
Roger
 
Update 05/08/09 7:30pm

8600 ACRES BURNED
10% CONTAINED
3,500 AND 100 COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES THREATENED
75 RESIDENCES DESTROYED
246 ENGINES
12 FIXED WING PLANES (INCLUNDING DC-10) ,15 HELICOPTERS, AND 2500 PERSONNEL
MORE THAN 20,000 UNDER MANDATORY EVACUATION
MORE THAN 16,000 UNDER EVACUATION WARNING
COST: $2.6 MILLION
CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION
WINDS PUSHING THE FIRE TO THE EAST, WHILE WESTERN FLANK IS MOVING WESTWARD.
 
Update 5/10/09 9:30am

Fire Status:
•8,733 acres burned
•55% contained
•Damage assessment in progress – initial estimate of 31 homes destroyed, 47 homes damaged, and 2 outbuildings destroyed.
•140 homes remain under mandatory evacuation order, affecting 350 people.
•More than 3,850 properties under evcaution warning, affecting about 9,625 people.
•Residences threatened- 3,500; commercial properties threatened- 100
•4,543 personnel on scene: 509 engines, 109 crews
•11 air tankers and 13 helicopters
•18 firefighter injuries to date
•Cause under investigation: Tip line – 805-686-5074
•Air quality warning downgraded to Air quality watch
•Estimated costs to date $7.4llion
•Expected containment 5/13/09



We have had a good change in the weather with a heavy marine layer this morning--- cooler temps and higher humidity. :thup
 
Hi folks, sorry I quit posting on this. I got sent down to the fire on Friday the 8th. I was assigned to the west side along Hwy 154 from Saturday AM through Friday PM (14th). Very little structure damage on the west side. It came close in many places. Some places survived because of defensible space, some just got lucky.

A couple of facts stood out to me on this one. First, this is the 5th time since 1964 that the community of Painted Cave scraped by with no damage. The fires, Coyote - 1964, Paint - 1990, Zaca - 2007, Gap - 2008, and Jesusita - 2009 all threatened the area, but did not make their way to the location. The area is now an unburned island. Something about putting a bullet in the cylinder and giving it a spin comes to mind.

Second, it was impressive to see the fire spread or spot approximately 1/3 mile ahead of itself down canyon on Thursday the 7th. The terrain was near vertical and not accessible by ground. The aircraft and the rock escarpment at the top contained the fire.

Several long time Santa Barbara fire fighters noted that this was the scariest fire that they had been on. This was the first time in modern history had made its way that far into Santa Barbara. 30,000 people were evacuated at the high point.

We here in CA need to fasten our seat belts, it is going to be a long peak fire season here. :disgust
 
Sam- Thanks for your help!

The latest update:
Fire Status:
•8,733 acres burned
•98% contained
•All evacuation orders and warnings lifted as of May 13, 2009
•Residences threatened – 500; commercial properties threatened – 0
•80 homes destroyed; 15 homes damaged
•1 commercial property destroyed
•2 outbuildings damaged, 79 outbuildings destroyed
•1,857 personnel on scene: 111 engines, 57 crews
•1 air attack tanker and 4 helicopters
•30 firefighter injuries to date
•Cause under investigation: Tip line: (805) 686-5074
•Air quality warning remains in effect
•Estimated costs to date $17 million
•Expected containment 5/20/09
 
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