A vegetation fire burning near the northeastern corner of Santa Barbara County had grown to 1,500 acres on Thursday, marking the second blaze battled in the southern Los Padres National Forest this month. 

The Apache Fire started Tuesday evening in Apache Canyon in the south end of the Cuyama Valley in Ventura County.

Crews had 0% containment for the fire burning east of Highway 33 and 30 miles northeast of Ojai, according to Los Padres officials.

The U.S. Forest Service is in unified command with the Ventura County Fire Department, but multiple agencies have sent crews to assist in containing the blaze. 

Evacuation orders were in place for a handful of residences along Apache Canyon Road while evacuation warnings have been issued for residences in Burgess Canyon and Quail Springs.

Information on evacuations can be found at www.vcemergency.com.

As they work to contain the blaze, firefighters must deal with very hot, dry, and unstable conditions, including high temperatures that could climb up to 105 degrees and minimum relative humidity that could stay at 12-28%.

Winds will be out of the west, slightly stronger than they have been recently, Forest Service officials said.

The hot conditions are expected to persist through Saturday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, aircraft involved in the Apache Fire battle have been using the Santa Maria Public Airport, leading to the sound of flights above the Santa Maria Valley.

Meanwhile, efforts continue to finish surrounding the Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County, with containment holding at 90%.

The fire started July 5 near Zaca Lake and had blackened 38,664 acres.

Most of the work on the southern end of the fire is complete, with efforts focused on the north end while dealing with mountainous terrain and narrow roads affecting progress, Forest Service officials said.

As of Thursday morning, more than 700 personnel remained assigned to the Lake Fire, Forest Service officials said. 

The causes of both the Lake and Apache fires remained under investigation. 

An above-average supply of dry grass after heavy rains in the winter has fueled fires across the state. 

While the Lake Fire once held the top spot among activate incidents in California, it’s since been pushed to second place by the Park Fire in Butte and Tehama counties.

After starting Wednesday, the fire north of Chico had exceeded 78,000 acres by mid-day Thursday.