Print friendly
E-mail story
Contact an Editor
iPod friendly
Comments
Bookmark This
del.icio.us.
Digg!
furl
google
newsvine
reddit
technorati
Facebook
Yahoo!Not since 1955 when the Refugio Fire burned from Refugio Canyon east to Highway 154 have the Goleta foothills burned with the intensity it does tonight; flames up to 100 feet in height could be seen from throughout the Goleta Valley.
Rather than exploding in the heavy fuels and moving quickly, the fire seemed to settle into what appeared to be a large basin with the leading downhill edge of the fire forming an almost horizontal line of flames perhaps 300-400 feet in length. Over the course of the hour I watched it burn the fire did not appear to move much at all. Partly this was due to the light breeze blowing to the west which can be seen in the photographs in the gallery.
Ray Ford
Gap Fire, July 2, 2008
Though early reports suggested the fire might have begun near Lizard's Mouth or the Winchester Gun Club, from the current position of the fire it seems likely the fire originated closer to a favorite hiking and climbing area known as the "Playground," which is about 1/4 mile and 300-400 feet elevation below West Camino Cielo.
If I’m correct, this would place the fire in the Bartlett Canyon drainage which drops down into the valley just west of the entrance into La Patera Ranch.
Ray Ford
This was taken about 1:20am.
Despite the size of the flames, fire fighters are hopeful that lower humidity and the cool air temperatures will keep the burn from expanding before air attacks can begin at first light. We are also fortunate that windy conditions anticipated earlier never materialized.
The Indy will be following the fire's progress tomorrow and will keep you posted with updates throughout the day.
Related Links
Double-clicking on any word or phrase in this story will open a reference window with definitions and links to other reference material.
Previous Month
Comments
Discussion Guidelines
Thank you *so much* for staying on top of this developing story!! I only heard about it after all the "Nightly News Shows" were over for the day, and I spent hours fruitlessly searching for information before I remembered to check the "Independent."
You had everything I was looking for, with pictures!! From now on, you'll be my FIRST stop when I need local news!
JeweledLace (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2008 at 5:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Same for me - after fruitlessly searching "official" and other news web sites, I remembered the Indy too and was happily surprised about the up-to-date and detailed information. Thanks!
GoletaResident (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2008 at 6:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ray Ford - you are amazing! You worked tirelessly to keep us informed about the dizzying movements of the Zaca Fire last summer and now you are on top of the Gap Fire, which is "on top" of many of us!
Thank you!
elaz (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Updates on evacs?
Radius?
We have friends in and around the area and we are downtown and have space.
My son and i saw the blaze last night from our house downtown.
It looked rather bibllical...ie a burning bush.
Rather scarry for an 11 year old.
And then we realized we have friends up that way.
We would like to do what we can,if there is a need.
Just can't imagine going through last year again.
My throat hurts just thinking about it.
Rough air.
Must be hell in Goleta today.
White smoke?
What can we do to help?
Thanks Ray.
Best Fire reporting EVER!!!!!
Ever!
Saved us from shotty info last year.
xo
emenzies (anonymous profile)
July 2, 2008 at 3:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh I see criticizing KTMS for its shoddy coverage is not allowed - well here it is again for those who missed it - I guess Keith Royer suggested removal?
[snip]
::::::: This is WebAdmin, and I don't believe we deleted this post; just click your name and you can see all the comments you have made, including this one I just trimmed to avoid duplication.
Have a nice holiday weekend.
:::::::::
RForsyth (anonymous profile)
July 5, 2008 at 2:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This was also censored -
On that note: When we first read about listening to the latest info on radio stations, we turned on the first one but only had to listen to music we do not appreciate, so I gave up on that. I thought the internet would be the best place to stay tuned, but when the power went out my laptop was still running on battery but my DSL modem was out, so we had no internet connection; so far for that idea...
Now: our telephone is also a fax and relies on electricity - so we had no telephone connection either (we don't have a cell phone)...so in the end we just packed our "evacuation bags" and continued to watch the fire "live". On the way to work we took Fairview & Cathedral Oaks and saw the road closure live; that was before the reverse 911 call.
Good thing the cars are full of gas - I believe the gas pumps won't work without electricity either...
GoletaResident (anonymous profile)
RForsyth (anonymous profile)
July 5, 2008 at 2:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
and this as well was mysteriously removed...
That's the impression we got from last year's Zaca fire - those news and 'official' stations are good for "the after" - to report on "historic events"... Reminds me of that old TV sports commercial: "When you want the weather - look out of the window".
How true!
GoletaResident (anonymous profile)
RForsyth (anonymous profile)
July 5, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You are correct Web admin -
Sorry I got lost.
I thought KTMS may have suggested removal.
My post is under this article:
http://www.independent.com/news/2008/jul...
RForsyth (anonymous profile)
July 7, 2008 at 10:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Post a comment