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As darkness fell Saturday, firefighters appeared to have made good progress quelling the Sherpa Fire, which has been burning for four days along the Gaviota Coast.
And daybreak Sunday brought the welcome news that the fire had not grown during the night, and remained at 7,811 acres burned and 45-percent contained.
Gusty sundowner winds did kick up in the late afternoon and continued into the night, but only a section of vegetation high up in El Capitan Canyon seemed to be burning with any intensity, and smoke levels overall were much less than previous nights.
That section, below West Camino Cielo, remained active Sunday, and was expected to be a main focus for firefighters, according to Brendan Halle, a public information officer for the fire.
Air tankers and helicopters spent most of the day Saturday laying down lines of retardant as part of the effort to bring the blaze to containment.
That work will continue Sunday, Halle said.
Crews on the ground, meanwhile, worked to construct and extend containment lines, with much of the focus on the fire’s eastern flank.
As of Sunday morning, there were more than 2,000 fire personnel assigned to the blaze, including 130 fire engines, 62 hand crews, 10 water tenders and six bulldozers.
The aerial fleet included five air tankers and six helicopters.
Cause of the fire, which began Wednesday afternoon on the Rancho La Scherpa property near the top of Refugio Canyon, remained officially “under investigation.”
Incident commanders expressed relief Saturday morning that strong winds did not materialize the previous night. But a forecast calling for hot and windy conditions the next few days kept them on high alert.
A Red Flag Warning of critical fire conditions was issued late Saturday, and will be in effect from 3 p.m. Sunday until 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Forecasters were calling for 15-25 mph northwest winds in the afternoon, with gusts to 35 mph, increasing in intensity during the evening hours. Temperatures were expected between 90 and 102, with relative humidity of 8 to 20 percent.
The eastern front of the fire — currently near Las Llagas Canyon, about six miles west of Goleta — is what has had incident commanders most concerned.
The rugged terrain in that area has made it unsafe for hand crews to build direct containment lines, said Robert Laeng, a U.S. Forest Service fire management officer who is one of the incident commanders.
Instead, crews have been working on secondary contingency lines, and also doing some “back burns” to clear out pockets of vegetation ahead of the fire, Laeng said.
The idea, he explained, is to create what fire managers call a “catcher’s mitt, so if the wind shifts and pushes the fire down the hill, it will run into a black line that’s much deeper than just our hand lines or our (bull)dozer lines.”
Firefighters have been assisted by air tankers that have been laying down lines of retardant in front of the fire.
“In short, we will continue to push across the top and bottom of the fire until we can find a place to connect those two,” Laeng said.
Extreme drought conditions and strong winds are hampering firefighting efforts in a region that’s expected to see scorching temperatures into early next week.
Temperatures well into the 90s and low humidity are forecast for Sunday and Monday, which will present an added challenge to firefighters.
Additional rounds of sundowner winds remain a concern throughout the weekend as well, officials said.
Fire officials said the blaze has threatened 270 structures and burned down one small treatment building at El Capitán State Beach.
Since the fire broke out about 3:30 p.m. June 15 off Refugio Road, there have been no major injuries or major structure loss, according to Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Eric Peterson.
“That’s a good success,” he said. “We had a good night last night. I am confident that everything that can be done, is being done.”
Officials issued air quality warnings for the South Coast through the weekend. Residents are advised to limit their time outside if smoke is visible and smelled, said Dr. Takashi Wada, director of the county Public Health Department. He said people who are smoke-sensitive or who have respiratory issues are urged to take precaution.
“Even if the air can look good in the moment,” he said, “it can change quickly due to the air and wind. It is difficult to predict which areas will be impacted by the smoke.”
Mandatory evacuation orders have remained the same for the past 24 to 48 hours, and sheriff’s Lt. Kelly Moore said officials have not been able to lift evacuation warnings.
Residents who live in western Goleta are encouraged to establish an emergency evacuation plan, Moore said.
Fire officials said evacuation warnings cover the area east of El Capitán Canyon to Farren Road on the far western edge of Goleta, including Las Llagas, Gato, Las Varas, Dos Pueblos and Eagle canyons.
The mandatory evacuation area includes Refugio State Beach; Refugio, Canada del Venadito, Las Flores and El Capitán canyons; El Capitán Ranch; El Capitán State Beach; and Canada de la Destiladera.
County agricultural commissioner Cathy Fisher attributed the minimal reports of damage to avocado and olive crops to fire crews communicating with growers.
According to Scott Jalbert, CalFire unit chief in San Luis Obispo, more than 30,000 acres of drought-plagued California have been burned since January, and fire season has only just begun.
“As the summer progresses, so will these types of fires,” Jalbert said. “Please be careful and make sure we can prevent these unwanted fires.”
Noozhawk Executive Editor Tom Bolton contributed to this report.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
