With the Sherpa Fire still in the rear-view mirror, firefighters from across Santa Barbara County are back at it, this time aiding their Los Angeles County and Monterey County counterparts.
The fast-growing Sand Fire, a blaze more than four times the size of the Sherpa Fire so far, has been storming the city of Santa Clarita and and the Soberanos Fire has been threatening Monterey County’s Big Sur area.
As of Monday evening, the Sand Fire, which started Friday, had charred more than 33,000 acres, destroyed 18 structures and was only 10-percent contained, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. More than 20,000 residents were under evacuation orders.
Nearly 3,000 personnel from across the state were tackling the blaze, which expanded rapidly over the weekend and has been throwing massive plumes of smoke into the sky.
The Monterey County Soberanos Fire, which also began Friday, had consumed roughly 15,000 acres, had destroyed 20 homes and was only 5 percent contained as of Monday. About 1,300 personnel were on scene fighting it.
Three local strike teams, which consist of five engines each, have headed east to Santa Clarita’s Sand Fire, county Fire Department spokesman Dave Zaniboni told Noozhawk.
One team with engines from Carpinteria, Montecito, Santa Maria and Ventura County left for the fire on Saturday, before the other two teams, with engines from the County Fire Department, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Montecito, Lompoc and Vandenberg Air Force Base, left on Sunday.
County Fire also sent a hand crew team and a dozer to the Sand Fire, Zaniboni said.
Santa Barbara Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Mailes told Noozhawk that the Type 1 and Type 3 engines at the Sand Fire are specialized for structure protection and wildland work, respectively.
Overhead leaders from the county and city of Santa Barbara are also assisting with the fires.
On Saturday, an all-county strike team of Type 3 engines headed north to the Soberanos Fire, along with a dozer.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
