Ojai Fire Watch: Day Fire - 9/28 Thursday Thread
[Update: 8:27pm] Fire Department(7:25pm report)
VCFD issues the same statement at the Sheriff's Dept. below regarding fundraising scams.
High temperatures and low humidity are expected to keep fire conditions exteme.Relatively calm conditions today assisted firefighter efforts directed at improving contingency lines around structure protection forces and mopup. Estimated property saved from the fire due to direct fire suppression effort is more than $20 million while estimated fire damage loss is $575,000. Firefighters continued with structure protection throughout the area today. The fire stands at 63 percent containment with costs exceeding $57.5 million. More than 160,000 acres have burned.
[8:32pm] Forest Service / Inciweb.org (8:23pm report)
Fire activity on all sectors of the fire was minimal today. Ground crews supported by airtankers and helicopters continued to make excellent progress constructing and securing fire line immediately adjacent to the fire perimeter. On areas where fireline had been constructed previously, fire crews worked to “mop-up,” locating and extinguishing any hot spots along the fire perimeter. Read full report after jump...
[8:25pm] Sheriff's Department
Beware of fundraising scams related to the Day Fire. Some members of the public have been contacted regarding fund raising efforts for the "Victims of the Day Fire." At this time, there are no known victims because the damage has kept to vegetation in the wilderness areas. If you are contacted in reference to this suspicious fund raising activity, please report it to your local law enforcement agency.
The Recommended Evacuations in the areas of Ozena and Camp Scheideck, near Highway 33 and Lockwood Valley Road have been downgraded to Precautionary Evacuations.
[Update: 8:26pm] AIRNOW: Air Quality
Ozone (14 on a scale of 500 as of 9am - listed as Good) and particulate matter (54 on a scale of 500 as of 9am - listed as Moderate Air Quality). The forecast for today and tomorrow is Moderate Air Quality: Unusually sensitive people should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. The next step up is 101-150: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups.
[Update 8:42pm] National Weather Service
RED FLAG WARNING EXTENDED UNTIL 9PM FRIDAY: CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...WARM TEMPERATURES...AND CRITICALLY DRY FUEL CONDITIONS WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.
[1:10pm] Hey Fire Personnel: Free Entry to Rock Concert
In thanks for the outstanding work and long hours our firefighters provided in keeping Ojai safe, and to offer an opportunity for these hard working people a day of relaxation with their family, the Ojai Classic Rock Festival will be admitting firefighters and their immediate families to the tribute extravaganza this Saturday at no cost. See Pink Floyd by House of Floyd, David Bowie by David Brighton, The Beatles by Imagine, Stevie Ray Vaughan by Cold Shot, The Eagles by The Long Run, and Led Zeppelin by Led Zepagain, this Saturday September 30 at Libbey Bowl.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Day Fire Update
Los Padres and Angeles National Forests
September 28, 2006 – 8:00 p.m.
Fire activity on all sectors of the fire was minimal today. Ground crews supported by airtankers and helicopters continued to make excellent progress constructing and securing fire line immediately adjacent to the fire perimeter. On areas where fireline had been constructed previously, fire crews worked to “mop-up,” locating and extinguishing any hot spots along the fire perimeter.
This afternoon, the Kern County Sheriff’s office announced that the evacuation notification for the communities of Lake of the Woods, Pinon Pines/Cuddy Valley and Pine Mountain Club has been lowered to precautionary status (this means residents need to be prepared to leave if fire conditions change). Frazier Park remains under precautionary notification. The lowering of evacuation status reflects continued progress on containment and mop-up of the fire in the Lockwood Valley. Fire officials are increasingly confident about their ability to protect homes in the area. The evacuation status of Camp Scheideck was lowered to precautionary status earlier today.
The recommended evacuation issued by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office for the community of Lockwood Valley remains in effect. The Red Cross has two shelters, one on West Valencia Blvd. in Santa Clarita and a second at Golden Valley High School on Hosking Avenue in Bakersfield. Lockwood Valley Road remains closed to the general public. Lockwood Valley residents with proof of residency (utility bill, etc) may access their homes using Lockwood Valley Road. Highway 33 is closed between Wheeler Gorge and Ozena, near Lockwood Valley.
Extremely dry conditions, especially along ridgetops, continue throughout the fire area. The red flag fire weather warning for low relative humidity and potentially extreme fire conditions will continue through 9:00 p.m. on Friday.
As of 6:00 p.m. today, the fire has burned 160,570 acres and is 63 percent contained with 19 miles of line remaining to be built (34 miles of line was secured today). At total of 4,788 personnel are assigned to the fire. Ground forces are being supported by 9 airtankers, 28 helicopters, 58 engines, 44 dozers and 40 water tenders. Suppression cost to date is $57,524,249.
Emergency Fire Closure and Fire Restrictions
The Forest Service has closed a large area of Los Padres National Forest in Ventura, Kern and southern Santa Barbara counties. The closure prohibits all public entry to forest lands, trails, roads and recreation sites. A map and description of the closure is available from Forest Service offices, and on the Internet at: www.inciweb.org. Campfires and charcoal barbecue fires are now prohibited in all areas of Los Padres National Forest except within facilities managed by concessionaires.
For More Information
For updated fire information, contact the Ventura County Fire Protection District Headquarters at 805-388-4276 or the Los Padres National Forest Fire Information Center at 805-961-5770. For further information regarding the Day Fire visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/conditions/ or www.fire.countyofventura.org. .
# # #
| Permalink | author bio | 
Comments (3)
This is the best summary information I've been able to find. Many thanks and good job!
Comment #1 Posted by: L Scott | September 28, 2006 12:17 PM
Thanks for uptodated information on Ojai area fires and weather. Helps me keep in touch with my daughter and her horse's hometown.
Comment #2 Posted by: Anonymous | August 25, 2007 03:51 PM
Thanks for uptodated information on Ojai area fires and weather. Helps me keep in touch with my daughter and her horse's hometown.
Comment #3 Posted by: Anonymous | August 25, 2007 03:51 PM