Lake Fire blazes through 36,000 acres as firefighting force grows to 3,400

The Lake Fire had burned more than 36,000 acres as of Friday morning after crews worked overnight to maintain fire growth in the eastern Santa Ynez Valley.

With 36,707 acres burned and containment still at 16%, the Lake Fire is Santa Barbara County’s largest fire since the Thomas Fire in 2017 and the largest California wildfire of the year .

The fire started on July 5 on Santa Lucia Road near Zaca Lake and has drawn in 91 crews and 3,411 personnel, according to Cal Fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Marc Peebles, a fire public information officer, said that normally when a fire increases in acreage there is a reduction in containment, but in this case night crews were able to maintain the fire and build a fire line.

The fire has been active every day and at night. Because of where it’s located, certain elevations are above where the marine layer comes in, according to Peebles.

The fire is still burning in the southeastern direction and also has grown on the north side on Thursday near Los Padres National Forest.

Peebles told Noozhawk that the fire burned over a ridge back down into a large river drainage at the northern section of the fire Thursday night.

The fire has stayed at the river and crews will be working on Friday to secure the area, according to Peebles.

Five firefighters have been injured since the beginning of the fire, with some being labeled as traumatic injuries. No civilian injuries have been reported.

No homes have been burned but four structures have been damaged, including three recreational residences and one outbuilding on forest land, according to Cal Fire. A campground was also reportedly damaged by the fire.

An excessive heat warning is in effect for the fire area through Saturday, and high temperatures in the 80s and 90s have been reported even at night.

New evacuation orders and warnings were issued on Thursday . The Sheriff’s Office ordered evacuations for the area east of La Brea Creek and Forest Route 10N06, south of the Los Padres National Forest boundary and north of the Sisquoc River.

A new warning area is: east of Kelly Canyon, north of Sisquoc River, west of La Brea Creek and Forest Route 10N06, and south of the Los Padres National Forest.

Other evacuation orders and warnings for fire-impacted areas remain in effect.

For the most recent evacuation information check readysbc.org’s Lake Fire page .

The county Air Pollution Control District updated its air-quality alert to the entire Santa Ynez Valley. Most areas of the county had good or moderate air quality as of Friday morning. Residents are advised to monitor conditions for changes.

Residents can track real-time air quality through the county APCD page and federal fire and smoke map .