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Day Fire Update
Los Padres and Angeles National Forests
September 29, 2006 – 10:00 a.m.

Fire activity on Thursday night was minimal and good progress was made on construction of remaining line and mop-up along the fire perimeter. Due to the sustained efforts of ground crews supported by airtankers and helicopters there is now very little heat remaining along the fire perimeter. There may still be active fire and smoke visible from adjacent areas as the fire consumes unburned islands of fuel in the fire interior. Crews are “gridding” in the area around structures in Lockwood Valley that were in the vicinity of Tuesday’s spotfire. “Gridding” is a careful patrol of a burned area to locate and extinguish any remaining hot spots and is an important final step in the fire suppression effort.

The evacuation notification has been lowered for the communities of Lake of the Woods, Pinon Pines/Cuddy Valley and Pine Mountain Club and Camp Scheideck to precautionary status (this means residents still need to be prepared to leave if fire conditions change). Frazier Park remains under precautionary notification. The recommended evacuation issued by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office for the community of Lockwood Valley remains in effect. Lockwood Valley residents with proof of residency (utility bill, etc) may access their homes using Lockwood Valley Road. Highway 33 remains closed between Wheeler Gorge and Ozena, near Lockwood Valley. 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 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.

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 a.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 on Thursday). Containment is projected by Monday, Oct. 2 at 6:00 p.m. A total of 4,852 personnel are assigned to the fire. Ground forces are being supported by 9 airtankers, 28 helicopters, 64 engines, 39 dozers and 39 water tenders. Suppression cost to date is $57,524,249.

Firefighters are very appreciative of all of the community support shown them over the past few weeks. While there is no mechanism for accepting donations of food or other items for the firefighters (everything has already been provided for them), they offer a big “thank you” for all of the signs and notes received.

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 Los Padres National Forest Fire Information Center at 805-961-5770 or the Ventura County Fire Protection District Headquarters at 805-388-4276 or visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres/conditions/ or www.fire.countyofventura.org.

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