Rey Fire burning in Santa Barbara County

With the BlueCut Fire burning in San Bernardino County, there’s a new fire burning in Santa Barbara County, that was first reported at 3:15 p.m. today.

The Santa Barbara Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest reports the fire is quickly spreading and is at 75-100 acres. The Los Angeles ABC affiliate is reporting 500 acres burned.

They have ordered evacuations from campgrounds in the Paradise Road area and the Los Prietos Boys Camp. The evacuation area is Cachuma County Park, 1 Lakeview Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93105.

From their Inciweb report:

Engines and crews from the Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara County and nearby municipalities are on-scene, One Air Tanker, two helicopters are assigned. Additional resources including air resources have been requested.

Highway 154 is closed from the junction of State Route 246 to the junction of State Route 192.

When drones interfere with firefighting efforts, a wildfire has the potential to grow larger and cause more damage. On the Soberanes Fire, an FAA Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in effect and any private aircraft or drone that violates the TFR could face serious criminal charges. Even without a TFR, anyone who hampers firefighting efforts could face charges. For more information on drones, visit the FAA’s website or Know Before You Fly. If you fly, we can’t!

The cause of the fire is unknown, but it started near the White Rock Campground.

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UPDATE: 9:30 p.m.: The Rey Fire is now at 600 acres and rapidly spreading. The authorities have put a new evacuation center into place: The Santa Ynez High School – New Gymnasium – 2975 E Hwy 246, Santa Ynez, CA 93460

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UPDATE: AUGUST 19, 11:30 a.m.: From the latest incident report:

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has issued a time frame for retrieval of items that may have been left in campgrounds during the evacuation procedure for the Rey Fire, which began yesterday August 18, 2016 at approximately 3:00 p.m. Officers will escort up to five parties at a time from the road closure at Paradise Road in to the fire area to retrieve personal belongings beginning immediately. The window for retrieval may be fairly short, due to changing wind and fire conditions. Please plan accordingly to retrieve your items today before 4 p.m.

Engines and crews from the Los Padres National Forest, Santa Barbara County, and nearby municipalities have the fire 20% contained. Two injuries were reported today, one due to heat and one due to bee stings.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Officials are urging Forest visitors to be extremely careful with anything that could cause a spark. “The safest fire condition for our firefighters is the fire that never starts” said District Ranger John “Pancho” Smith. Please observe fire restrictions when recreating on national forest system lands. More information on how you can prevent wildfires can be found at www.preventwildfireca.org.

There are 304 people fighting this fire, that has now grown to 1,000 acres and is 20 percent contained.

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UPDATE: AUGUST 20, 10 a.m.: The rey Fire has now spread to 10,000 acres and is 10 percent contained.

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UPDATE: AUGUST 22, 9 a.m.: The USFS reports:

Crews made significant progress yesterday and secured the containment line on the western flank of the Rey Fire at Horse Canyon, giving firefighters a secure anchor point to work from. Crews worked to improve the line near Old Man Mountain to extend the containment in the northern area. The fire continued to move east throughout the night just beyond Little Pine Mountain toward Buckhorn Creek.

And

Today, the fire is expected to continue to display extreme fire behavior due to dry vegetation and easily combustible fuels due to ongoing drought conditions. People can expect to see smoke and ashfall in Santa Barbara, Montecito, and Carpenteria for the next couple of days as the fire grows east/northeast towards the Dick Smith Wilderness. Crews will be constructing indirect line on the east side near Mono Creek. 

East Camino Cielo Road will be closed to all traffic at the junctions of Painted Cave Road and Gibralter Road for the safety of firefighter personnel and equipment movement. An evacuation order remains in effect for the Paradise Road recreation areas, parts of Stagecoach Road and the Los Prietos Boys Camp. Paradise Road remains closed. Campgrounds will remain closed through the weekend. Highway 154 is open to traffic.

And

The Rey Fire continues to display extreme fire behavior due to critical live fuel moistures of 50-60% in decadent chemise and chapparal burning in some areas with no recorded fire history. Santa Cruz Creek and Santa Ynez Watersheds continue to remain threatened which is a critical water source. This watershed and Lake Cachuma provides 80% pf the water supply to the South Coast.

The Rey Fire is now at 23,546 acres and 20 percent contained.

Photo from Cal Fire video.