The Associated Press
LOS OLIVOS, Calif. — Columns of smoke wafted along the Santa Barbara coast Monday as firefighters battled a six-week old wildfire that has gotten new life from triple digit temperatures and low humidity.
Burning in rural Santa Barbara County, the fire surged across some 13 square miles of arid brush overnight and was gaining strength officials said.
The fire chewed through densely forested wilderness area already within anticipated containment lines.
Firefighting efforts were expected to be hampered by hot weather through the week, said county fire Capt. Eli Iskow.
“It’s a stubborn fire because of the fuel built up and the dry conditions,” said Iskow. “It’s a fire that you can’t just go and put out, but have to fight on its own terms.”
The fire, burning in the Dick Smith Wilderness and Los Padres National Forest, has consumed about 95,000 acres, or 148 square miles, Iskow said.
Smoke was visible from Bakersfield, some 90 miles away, and along the coast in the city of Santa Barbara, nearly 30 miles from the fire, officials said.
The blaze was 44 percent contained, down from 68 percent the previous day, Iskow said. The fire’s anticipated full containment was Sept. 7.
Fire officials could light a backfire along the blaze’s growing northeast flank to remove fuel from its path, fire spokesman Joe Pasinato said.
Similar controlled burns kept the fire from intruding deeply into a sparsely populated area south of the main burn area, Pasinato said.
The evacuation order in those areas – which include the Paradise Road community and Los Prietos Boys Camp – was downgraded Sunday night to an evacuation warning, officials said.
More than 3,000 firefighters, 21 helicopters and eight air tankers were battling the blaze, which has cost $66.7 million since it was ignited by sparks from equipment used to repair a water pipe on July 4.