Firefighting crews on Figueroa Mountain Road attacking the Lake Fire on Sunday.
Firefighting crews and air support work along Figueroa Mountain Road attacking the Lake Fire on Sunday. Credit: Ryan Cullom / Noozhawk photo

Lake Fire evacuation areas expanded again Monday night after officials held another briefing on the blaze that has burned 21,763 acres.

“We have a long way to go ahead of us, but we’ve taken a few significant steps,” Benjamin Gray, ranger for the Los Padres National Forest Santa Lucia District, told the night shift crew Monday.

Firefighters from Santa Barbara County and Los Padres National Forest began responding to the blaze near Zaca Lake shortly before 4 p.m. Friday. The cause remained under investigation Monday.

More than 1,800 personnel are assigned to the firefighting effort, as well as ground and air support equipment such as bulldozers, water tenders, tankers and water-dropping helicopters.

During the Monday evening briefing, incident leaders noted that the hot weather at the higher elevations and heavy fuels continue to feed the fire.

“This southeast portion of the fire is starting to get into fuels that have not burned in any of the recorded history that we have,” said Dan Michael, fire behavior trainee. “So, while it kind of checked up and slowed down backing into the Zaca Fire footprint, it’s not doing quite as much of that on this side as it gets into those fuels.”

The winds continue to try to push the fire south, he added.

“It’s going to be the worst fire weather of the day while you’re up there on night shift,” he said.

As of Monday evening, the blaze had blackened 21,763 acres, which was a 1,443-acre increase from the morning update. Crews surrounded 8% of the fire and continue to work toward increasing the containment lines.

Smoky skies in the Santa Ynez Valley Sunday from the Lake Fire.
Smoky skies loom over the Santa Ynez Valley on Sunday from the Lake Fire. Credit: Ray Ford / Noozhawk photo

Expanded Evacuation Areas for Lake Fire

On Monday night, the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management announced expanded evacuation orders and evacuation warning zones within the Figueroa Mountain area.

OEM officials said an evacuation order is in effect south of the Tunnel House at the Sisquoc River, east of Figueroa Creek, north of the southern end of Cachuma Mountain, and west of Los Padres National Forest areas. People should leave the area immediately, officials said.

Evacuation orders are still in effect for all areas from Figueroa Mountain Road at Junction Camp (including Tunnel Road) to the Chamberlin Ranch.

The order also covers all areas from Zaca Lake Road at Foxen Canyon Road north to the Sisquoc River, including east of Foxen Canyon Road to the 9000 block.

There is also an evacuation order in effect for an area spanning from the Grass Mountain Trailhead to the neighborhood within Sawmill Basin, including Tunnel Road and the Figueroa Campground.

Residents can utilize the Santa Barbara County 2024 Lake Fire Incident Map to type in their address to see whether their property falls within the evacuation order or warning areas (highlighted on the map in red and orange, respectively).  

An evacuation area map shows affected areas in red (evacuation orders) and orange (evacuation warnings) for the Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County. Credit: Screenshot via Santa Barbara County

County officials also expanded evacuation warning areas, telling residents to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. People should leave now if they feel unsafe and not wait for an evacuation order, they said.

Effective Monday night, an evacuation warning is in effect for the area of Goat Rock, east of Figueroa Creek, north of the U.S. Forest Service entrance at Happy Canyon Road and south of Cachuma Mountain. 

Previous evacuation warnings remained in effect, which can be viewed in the interactive map.

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.

Flames in Figueroa Mountain Area

“It’s not a wind-driven fire, so it’s not really pushing in any one direction; it’s really expanding in a lot of directions,” Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said.

It’s more active in some areas than others, including on the south side of upper Figueroa Mountain Road, where he was on Monday afternoon.

Santa Barbara County Fire officials in the mountains of the Lake Fire Monday afternoon.
Santa Barbara County Fire officials work in the mountains of the Lake Fire on Monday afternoon. Credit: Santa Barbara County Fire Department photo

The community of Tunnel Road was evacuated over the weekend, and one person didn’t leave at the time, which “definitely gave us a scare,” Safechuck said.

The next day at 5 a.m., he and a Ventura County Fire battalion chief contacted the man again and escorted him out through the embers in their vehicles.

“I was in front of him so he could follow me out, and the (battalion chief) was behind him, and we got him out to safety. That was a really big deal for us,” Safechuck said.

Some people stay behind because they think they can protect their properties, but conditions change drastically when the fire actually arrives, Safechuck said.

The fire moved past Grass Mountain but continues to burn in the drainage between that and Figueroa Mountain Road, Safechuck said. Crews had “a heck of a firefight in there” attempting to save structures in that area, he added.

There have been reports of several damaged and destroyed structures in the Lake Fire burn area, but Unified Command officials had confirmed only one damaged structure as of Monday.

One firefighter was transported to a hospital for heat exhaustion on the first day of the blaze, and there have been unconfirmed reports of additional firefighter injuries.

Smoky conditions from the Lake Fire in the Figueroa Mountain Road area Monday afternoon.
Smoky conditions from the Lake Fire affect the Figueroa Mountain Road area Monday. Air quality alerts were issued for the Los Olivos area. Credit: Santa Barbara County Fire Department photo

Challenging Weather Conditions for Firefighters

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 National Weather Service said.

Road Closures

  • Happy Canyon Road: Closed at forest boundary due to Lake Fire
  • Foxen Canyon Road: Closed at Zaca Station Road and Tepusquet Road due to Lake Fire
  • Figueroa Mountain Road: Closed at Midland School due to Lake Fire
  • Old San Marcos Road: Closed due to Caltrans closure of Highway 154 

Noozhawk executive editor Giana Magnoli contributed reporting to this story.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.