Edhat Staff
Update by the edhat staff
November, 6, 2022
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department reports the Ward Fire is now 100% contained.
Update by the edhat staff
4:00 p.m., November, 3, 2022
The Sheriff’s Office has identified the suspect arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the Ward Fire. Read more on that here.
County Fire Captain Scott Safechuck reports the Ward Fire is now 75% contained. The winds are light to moderate and crews will continue working throughout the day.
“Always call 911, if you see, smell, or suspect fire,” Safechuck said.
Photo: SBCFD
Update by the edhat staff
9:00 a.m., November, 3, 2022
A brush fire sparked off Ward Drive near the Southern California Gas Plant on Wednesday evening.
At 11:40 p.m., Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to the scene to find approximately one acre of vegetation on fire, including eucalyptus trees, slowly spreading due to wind.
A suspect was reportedly detained at the scene around this time by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, reports County Fire Captain Scott Safechuck.
Around 12:40 a.m., an evacuation warning was issued for residents off More Ranch Road by the Sheriff’s Office while additional engines were requested to respond to the incident.
Photo: SBCFD
Around 2:00 a.m., Captain Safechuck reported the fire moved easterly from Ward Drive to More Ranch Road. While the spread is slow, embers cast from wind blown trees on fire are making additional spot fires, he said.
At 3:07 a.m., the fire was 50% contained. Captain Safechuck reported heavy vegetation at the center of the burn continues with falling trees making a direct attack too dangerous. Although the perimeter of the fire has low activity with crews working through the night for full containment.
At 5:00 a.m. the evacuation of More Ranch Road residents was lifted.
As of 8:00 a.m., Captain Safechuck reported approximately 65 firefighters are continuing to work through the morning with relief crews soon arriving. Chainsaws are being used to cut down 100 feet of unstable trees and reduce ember showers that anticipated winds can carry outside the fire line.
No injuries have been reported and the exact cause is under investigation.
Photo: SBCFD
By Amy Katz
Fire broke out around midnight In Eucalyptus Grove by More Mesa in Goleta, between Ward Drive and Patterson. At 2:50 am a fresh fire crew of a couple dozen fire fighters joined those already on scene to battle flames in the towering trees. So far no homes damaged but high winds are posing a challenge. Photos by Photojournalist Amy Katz © ZUMA Press
I’m going out on a limb here but if I had to guess I’d think it was a Homeless encampment??
It’s very fortunate this occurred now and not a couple months ago when it was a lot hotter and drier. The eucalyptus trees and overgrown vegetation in this area is a massive conflagration waiting to happen. This area should be a priority for thinning and clearing. There are a lot of other neglected areas like this that are disasters waiting to happen like Elwood mesa(cleanup is in the works here), lake Los carneros, freeway sidings around the Winchester exit, etc. With a little maintenance, we can dramatically reduce the fire hazard.
Another fire attributed to urban campers. Thank the ACLU for this as well as the 9th Circut Court for allowing “public sleeping /camping”… Every City in the U.S. is now dealing with this. Even the once beautiful parks in our Nation’s Capitol are full of tents and vagrants. No one could have predicted this years ago in Washington D.C. of all places. Tourists from around the world are appalled.
For the “Save The Modoc Trees” group: here you have a perfect example of why eucalyptus trees should be nowhere near residential areas or, in fact, anywhere that does not have Pandas. An easily plausible scenario: little warming fire at the base of one tree ended up igniting a dozen others with what is essentially kerosene balls of fire flying through the air. Not to mention canopy branches falling to the ground in a flaming mess. Not native, not natural.
Then there are the palms. Also not native and what is natural about a straight, evenly spaced row of rat infected trees, ready to catch the flying embers from the nearby eucs? You people needs to the nature preserve beyond the trees.
Ginger, I wouldn’t write off eucalyptus trees completely. If neglected like so many trees in our community, they become extremely dangerous. However, when maintained well eucalyptus trees are beautiful and safe. It does require a lot of work, and they are not ideal in many of the areas where they are found. In locations like this, we should probably remove them before they all burn.
I just read an article about the Chumash and others using controlled fire just before the rainy season to prevent large fires and make the soil richer. That may be a plus to out-of-control vagrant fires. Backpacker camper-fires are rigidly controlled. I can’t name any that are linked to campers. (College kids out on a spree aren’t veteran campers. They roast marshmallows, get drunk or high and hope to “get lucky” (and hope to make it home without getting in an accident.)