NIPOMO, Calif. -- Fire crews moved into a second base today at the Santa Maria Speedway in Nipomo to house hundreds of firefighters battling the Lake Fire.
There are now 3,229 firefighters working 24 hours a day to help contain the fire in the Santa Ynez Valley that began a week ago.
The Lake Fire has burned 34,015 acres and is 16% contained as of Thursday.
Santa Barbara County Fire Department's Public Information Officer Scott Safechuck said to stay proactive firefighters are coming from across California and out of state.
Firecrews head back to base after a long shift in the steep terrain where they can eat, hydrate, shower, and sleep.
Overnight the fire grew 4,000 acres, fire officials said it was due to wind conditions and efforts from fire crews.
"We had favorable wind. We had favorable fuel conditions with light, flashy grassy fuels and annual grass. And we were able to, do a coordinated effort of lighting that grass on fire, pushing that fire back into the main, the main fire and really starting to secure that area. There was a great effort," said Safechuck.
Safechuck said the fire is being divided by two zones and is assigned to different agencies to help work more strategically.
"The fire has been divided into a north zone and a south zone, and it allows us to be really effective in the way that we manages or manage our resources. So we have kind of more of a federal resource, more federal resources in the north end of the fire and more state and local resources on the south end of the fire. And we're working together to to battle this fire," said Safechuck.
Fire officials continue to encourage people to sign up for alerts on readysbc.org, follow evacuation orders and prepare to leave when you receive a warning.
The post Fire crews open a second incident base at the Santa Maria Speedway in Nipomo for the Lake Fire appeared first on News Channel 3-12 .
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