Santa Cruz Island Fire at 250 Acres
Santa Cruz Island smoke from Painted Cave (Photo by Jessica)
The brush fire on Santa Cruz Island has grown to over 250 acres since Tuesday afternoon, according to officials.
The fire hit near 100 acres on Tuesday evening and continues to grow while firefighters work to gain a containment line.
Approximately 30 people were evacuated from the island on Tuesday. There are currently no injuries reported.
Update by edhat staff
First responders are working to contain a fire that broke out on Santa Cruz Island Tuesday afternoon.
After 2:30 p.m., edhat readers wrote in to report seeing smoke from various parts of Santa Barbara.
According to a spokesperson for the Channel Islands National Park, the fire has burned approximately 20 acres. There are currently no evacuations or structures threatened.
Crews are working to attack the fire by air south of the main ranch, which is land owned by The Nature Conservancy.
It's speculated that this may be related to a controlled burn of eucalyptus trees earlier this week.
Updates will be added as they become available.
Edhat readers are reporting a possible fire on Santa Cruz Island. Does anyone have more information?
20 Comments
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Mar 27, 2018 04:20 PMPlease don’t call 911 with questions
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Mar 27, 2018 04:46 PMKEYT.com says its 20 acres and the fire escaped a controlled burn from several days ago, and re-ignited.
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Mar 28, 2018 02:43 PM'Controlled' burns are well known for becoming 'out of control' FIRES... Have been since I was a youngster, a very long, long time ago :( I have always cringed when they have announced controlled burns will be happening.
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Mar 28, 2018 02:43 PM'Controlled' burns are well known for becoming 'out of control' FIRES... Have been since I was a youngster, a very long, long time ago :( I have always cringed when they have announced controlled burns will be happening.
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Mar 27, 2018 05:00 PM40 acres at last report. One fixed wing and two rotor wings were originally ordered. Evacuating Prisoner's Harbor and the Navy site tonight. Evacuating Scorpion Ranch tomorrow.
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Mar 27, 2018 05:48 PMCan you share where you heard this? I don't see this information anywhere (news sites, twitter)
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Mar 27, 2018 10:46 PMScanner.
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Mar 27, 2018 05:13 PMWe are in a severe drought. When the "oops" factor rears its ugly head after a controlled burn ignites a fire, well...isn't that special. Shouldn't we have new rules?
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Mar 28, 2018 02:55 PMI would say they're working with a delicate balance. It has been shown that controlled burns can reduce the possibility of MAJOR fires... Unless, of course it becomes out of control. I suspect they are aware of the possibilities. And, have known about them for a VERY long time. What 'new' rules would you suggest? Part of the problem is that Mother Nature doesn't like to 'follow the rules'. She always seems to have surprises waiting for us.
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Mar 27, 2018 06:47 PMLike millimesa said, do not call 911 for “questions” gezzus.
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Mar 27, 2018 09:31 PMOkay, wasn't going to address the first comment about it... Being where we are, we see things, sometimes way before anyone else, or we're able to pinpoint locations better than 'somewhere between Turnpike and Los Carneros'. I call to make sure someone is aware and 50% of the time, I'm the first caller, so don't tell me not to bother 911.
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Mar 28, 2018 03:00 PMI have often called the KEYT news desk to learn if they're aware of something going on. They are pretty good about answering, and/or checking to see if it's been reported. ( Now, if they were better about keeping people informed about what is going on when they return to normal broadcasting, like a ticker tape across the bottom the screen with updates during a fire or whatever is going on, I'd be happier with them.)
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Mar 27, 2018 08:54 PMI heard nesting pairs of snowy plover were being relocated.
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Mar 28, 2018 09:10 AMDidn't the Fire Weather Forecast predict high winds? They're supposed to check the weather before burning, and not ignite when high winds are expected. Sounds like someone may have messed up .
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Mar 28, 2018 10:25 AMI remember years ago when this happened an injunction was placed which prohibited the use of seawater to fight fires. So fire-fighting on the islands includes a lot of shovel work and water has to be flown or shipped in from the mainland.
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Mar 28, 2018 04:47 PMContained? No plume or even much smoke visible from W. Camino Cielo. Nothing on visible or InfraRed satellites. The new "improved" InciWeb still says 250 acres as of 3pm. Not much info available it seems. Anyone seeing significant smoke still, or hearing things on scanners?
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Mar 28, 2018 05:53 PMNow says two more crews of hotshots will come to contain the fire. Island Packers cancelled all trips out to Santa Cruz Island (but are taking more trips to Anacapa and whale watching).
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Mar 28, 2018 05:54 PMHere's a nice picture from Twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DZampgsX0AATMmU.jpg:large
Credit: @ifoxtweet
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Mar 28, 2018 06:06 PMSeems perfectly the right thing to do asking 911 if they have gotten a report of the fire. What do you suggest would be better, just saying "there is a fire on Santa Cruz"? 911 is there to have reports of emergencies and asking if they know, have already gotten the report, about it is basically reporting a fire in case they were unaware.
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Mar 29, 2018 07:43 AMThe National Park Service tried a controlled burn above China Harbor shortly after they gained control of the east end. It got away, too.
Firebugs masquerading as ecologists don't think very carefully about island situations. They just want to burn.