As the Alisal Fire continues to burn through Refugio Canyon and the Gaviota Coast, evacuation orders have been issued for about 270 residents, and 260 additional residents are under evacuation warnings.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire, which started shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, has blazed across 15,442 acres with 5% containment.
On Monday, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department issued an evacuation order for Arroyo Hondo Canyon, Refugio Canyon, Refugio State Beach, and the area between El Capitan State Beach and West Camino Cielo.
Evacuation warnings were issued for the area east of El Capitan State Beach, west of Dos Pueblos Canyon Road and south of West Camino Cielo. The Sheriff’s Department extended the warning Tuesday to the area east of Calle Mariposa Reina, west of Arroyo Hondo and south of West Camino Cielo.
The Pacific Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross is on standby with an evacuation center at the Dos Pueblos High School upper parking lot, 7266 Alameda Ave. in Goleta.
Evacuees who need assistance or service can contact the Red Cross at 833.583.3111.
Santa Barbara County Animal Services is available to assist with animal evacuations through its hotline at 805.681.4332. Small animals that need to evacuate are also being accepted at the Goleta animal shelter, 5473 Overpass Road.
According to Jessica Wiebe, the community programs director for Santa Barbara County Animal Services, the Goleta shelter has a little more than 40 small animals, including five dogs and one cat, but mostly chickens.
Animal Control officers have been available to assist with evacuations, and Wiebe said there are also a couple of locations that Animal Services is having shelter in place while it provides food and water for the animals.
“We’re receiving a tremendous amount of support,” Wiebe said, referencing community members who have offered their time, properties or other ways of assistance. “We’ve had an abundance of calls offering to help.”
The Santa Barbara Equine Assistance and Evacuation Team also has been assisting with the evacuation and sheltering of large animals at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real in Santa Barbara.
Tammy Thompson, a volunteer with the Santa Barbara Equine Assistance and Evacuation Team, said that as of Wednesday afternoon, 137 animals were being held at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, with 70 horses and 67 smaller livestock, including goats, sheep and one miniature donkey.
“This is a small evacuation for us,” Thompson said, mentioning that during the Thomas Fire, for example, they assisted and evacuated about 1,300 horses. “If we didn’t have Earl Warren, we don’t have anywhere to go.”
The Santa Barbara Equine Assistance and Evacuation Team is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that assists in the evacuation, temporary care and sheltering of large animals during disasters and emergencies such as fires, floods or earthquakes.
“If you’re taking yourself out, take your animals with you,” Thompson said.
While the Santa Barbara Equine Assistance and Evacuation Team asks that owners feed and clean their animals, they ensure the animals have water throughout the day and are available to assist with caring for animals if owners are unable to at the time.
The Equine Assistance and Evacuation Team is caring for five horses, while owners are caring for the rest.
Grace Reilly, a 23-year-old who works with horses at Circle Bar-B Guest Ranch, said the Equine Assistance and Evacuation Team helped them a lot during evacuations on Monday, as a “carousel of horse trailers” went in and out of the ranch.
“We didn’t even have staff [at Earl Warren Showgrounds] and our horses were safe,” Reilly said. “They were in stalls, had water and food. … These people are wonderful. I can’t give them enough credit.”
Reilly said she was evacuating horses at Circle Bar B from about 2 p.m. Monday, when she first heard of the fire, until about 9 p.m., although there were still some horses being evacuated when she left. She then stayed at the Earl Warren Showgrounds with the horses overnight.
Evacuees who need assistance evacuating large animals can call the Santa Barbara Equine Assistance and Evacuation Team’s hotline at 805.892.4484.
“We’re here until all the animals are clear to go,” Thompson said.
Check back with Noozhawk for more updates on the Alisal Fire and firefighting efforts, as well as for more resources.
— Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.