Lake Fire incident leaders said there wasn’t significant fire growth Monday because crews were directly extinguishing spot fires.
It expanded to 26,176 acres overnight and crews reached 12% containment of the fire by Tuesday morning, CalFire officials said.
Heavy smoke plumes was visible in the Santa Ynez Valley most of Monday and Santa Barbara County officials issued an air quality alert for the Los Olivos area. Check air quality here.
The county expanded evacuation areas again, and residents can use the interactive map to see whether their property is affected.
The emergency evacuation shelter at the Veterans Memorial Building in Solvang was put on standby status Monday, but anyone who needs sheltering assistance can call the American Red Cross at 805.678.3073, officials said.
Anyone who needs help evacuating large animals, like horses, can call 805.698.0212.
The Lake Fire was very active in the Figueroa Mountain Road area on Monday, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said.
Firefighters in the area were working hard to protect structures, he added.
Jennifer Gray from Los Padres National Forest confirmed that the entire Figueroa Mountain Recreation Area is closed including campgrounds, day use, and trails. Roads in the area are also closed (Figueroa Mountain Road, Happy Canyon Road, Sunset Valley Road).
Red flag warnings will remain in effect for Santa Barbara County mountain areas Tuesday and early Wednesday, which signals weather conditions risky for wildfires.
“A volatile combination of extreme heat with 95- to 105-degree temperatures and single-digit relative humidity with little to no overnight recovery, combined with northwest winds gusting 25 to 35 mph for multiple hours and even stronger sundowner winds, will be very favorable for extreme fire behavior and rapid spread rates Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday night. This includes the Lake Fire and any new ignitions,” according to the National Weather Service.
Sundowner winds are expected in the Santa Ynez Mountains on Tuesday afternoon and night, the NWS said.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates on the Lake Fire.
