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Firefighters Endure Long, Hot Day Battling Lake Fire
Updated 
A giant team of firefighters — on the ground and in the air — continued trying to tame the Lake Fire in the Los Padres National Forest on Saturday, with forecasts calling for temperatures to reach the upper 90s later in the day.
The fire broke out Friday afternoon near remote Zaca Lake, and had blackened 4,674 acres by late Friday night.
As of early afternoon Saturday, the charred area had ballooned to 12,227 acres, with 0% containment, according to Capt. Scott Safechuck of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The U.S. Forest Service InciWeb website described the conditions on the Lake Fire as “extreme fire behavior with short-range and long-range spotting. The fire is burning with rapid rates of spread.”
Smoke from the blaze was visible throughout the Santa Ynez Valley and parts of Santa Barbara County as firefighters from Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara County and Cal Fire battled the blaze.
“There’s an access issue as well with this fire,” Andrew Madsen, U.S. Forest Service spokesman, told Noozhawk Saturday morning. “There are very few ingresses and egresses. We want to make sure those roads are open.”
Some 750 fire personnel were assigned to the blaze, with more likely on the way.
The focus of the fire fight appeared to be east of Zaca Lake along Zaca Ridge north of Figueroa Mountain, and in the Schoolhouse Canyon area north of the Michael Jackson’s former Neverland Ranch.
Evacuation warnings remained in effect for Figueroa Mountain Road from the Forest Station to Chamberlin Ranch; and areas north of Zaca Creek Road, east of Foxen Canyon Road, and South of the Sisquoc River.
“The Lake Fire is producing significant smoke that is aloft in the skies, currently ground level conditions are good to moderate countywide,” according to a statement. “This is a dynamic situation, and local air quality conditions can change quickly. All Santa Barbara County residents are encouraged to stay alert to local conditions by visiting www.ourair.org/todays-air-quality or fire.airnow.gov.”
The statement also said “Everyone, especially people with heart or lung conditions, older adults, pregnant women, and children, should limit time spent outdoors and avoid outdoor exercise when high concentrations of smoke and particles are in the air.”
A fire camp was being set at at the Elks Rodeo Grounds in Santa Maria.
No structure damage or injuries have been reported.
The following roads in and around the fire area are closed:
- Happy Canyon Road at the national forest boundary.
- Foxen Canyon Road at Zaca Station Road and Alisos Canyon Road.
- Figueroa Mountain Road at Midland School.
- Cause of the fire was under investigation.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates on this story.
Noozhawk Executive Editor Tom Bolton contributed to this report.
— Noozhawk South County editor Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
More by Joshua Molina, Noozhawk South County Editor
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