Zaca Fire

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Active flame front, USFS photo by John Newman

NASA satellite image of the Zaca Fire taken on August 7, 2007

USFS photo

The Zaca Fire is a wildfire which began burning northeast of Buellton, California, in Santa Barbara County, California. The fire started on July 4, 2007 and by August 31, it had burned over 240,207 acres (972.083 km²), making it California's second largest fire in recorded history after the Cedar Fire of 2003.^[1]^[2] The fire was 100% contained on September 2, 2007.^[3] It was declared controlled on October 29, 2007.^[4]

The fire was started as a result of sparks from a grinding machine on private property which was being used to repair a water pipe.^[5]^[2]

By August 12 "significant" progress was being made on the fire with the introduction of Tanker 910, currently the only operating DC-10 jumbo jet air tanker. Firefighters were able to turn the direction of the fire away from the Paradise Road community.^[6]

As of September 2, the fire had cost $117 million to fight, and was 100% contained. The fire had primarily burnt away from populated areas in extremely steep and rugged areas of the Los Padres National Forest and the Santa Ynez River Recreation Area.^[1] It only destroyed one Forest Service outbuilding. Its impacts on the environment and area water resources are not yet fully known.^[7]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b [1] Cal Fire update page
^ ^a ^b Zaca Fire information on Yuba net
^ Zaca Wildland Fire. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
^ "Zaca Fire Controlled But Not Out" InciWeb. Retrieved on November 6, 2007
^ "Officials Find Cause of Zaca Fire", KEYT3 news, July 6, 2007
^ Daniel, Stacy; Tina Leonard (August 12, 2007). Critical turn in the Zaca Fire: DC-10 Airtanker flies over and Evacuation Order downgraded. KSBY-TV—San Luis Obispo, CA. MSNBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
^ "Zaca Fire Impacts Will Linger for Years" by Ray Ford, Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved on November 6, 2007

[edit] External links

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Notable California wildfires by size

#1 - Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889: 300,000 acres (1,214 km²) est. · #2 - Cedar Fire: 273,246 acres (1,106 km²) · #3 - Zaca Fire: 240,207 acres (972 km²)
#4 - Matilija Fire: 220,000 acres (890 km²) · #5 - Witch Fire: 197,990 acres (801 km²)
#6 - Laguna Fire: 175,425 acres (710 km²) · #7 - Marble-Cone Fire: ~178,000 acres (720 km²) · #8 - Day Fire: 162,700 acres (658 km²)
#9 - McNally Fire: 150,670 acres (610 km²) · #10 - Old Fire: 91,281 acres (369 km²) · #11 - Harris Fire: 90,440 acres (366 km²)
#12 - Moonlight Fire: 65,000 acres (263 km²) · #13 - Sawtooth Complex fire: 61,700 acres (250 km²) · #14 - Ranch Fire: 58,401 acres (236 km²)