Zaca fire pulls support from Moorpark and countywide
By Meg Boberg Special to the Acorn

SEBASTIAN RAMIREZ/Special to Acorn Newspapers TIME OUT- Firefighter Ryan Flitt rests after returning from 48 hours on the Zaca fire line. Flitt and members of his crew work out of the Mountain Meadows Fire Station No. 40 in Moorpark. Local firefighters joined other fire departments from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties to battle the blaze which started during the Fourth of July weekend.

Low humidity and strong winds keep the Zaca fire blazing in 15 miles northeast of Buellton, Santa Barbara County.

Dry conditions allowed the fire to travel quickly and spread into the Los Padres National Forest. The fire was the result of stray sparks igniting dry vegetation late in the morning on July 4.

More than 1,000 personnel are assigned to the Zaca Fire consisting of hand crews, helicopters, and air tankers, among other units. Cooperators include the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service and The American Red Cross. The Ventura County Fire Department was deployed, as well.

Captain Barry Parker of VCFD noticed the erratic behavior of the fire.

"Any time there's a fire and you see it's in the back country, it has potential to grow very large because of the area it's burning in," Parker said. "The land is big and extensive and the fire history of the area shows volatile activity."

Personnel are working on the fire with helicopters dropping water and flame-retardant. No firefighters are on the land itself due to dangerous, steep terrain without an escape route.

"A lot of the terrain is steep and inaccessible because it's burning in the back wilderness," Parker said.

An evacuation order is in place for Peachtree Community, which contains 12 cabins. Neighboring rural communities can see the fire at night and smoke is visible during the day in the city of Santa Barbara.

At press time, the fire has spread across 35,500 acres and is twothirds contained. The estimated date for full containment is Sept. 7.

Containment and control are not the same, though, said Joe Pasinato, fire information officer with U.S. forest service. When the forward spread is stopped, a fire is contained. After hot spots and flares are extinguished, the fire is controlled.

For updated information about the Zaca Fire, call the Zaca Information Center at (805) 9615770, or visit www.inciweb.org.