Favorable Friday Winds Aided Firefighting Efforts

Great reporting! Nowhere else could we citizens get this information. Continue to keep us informed Ray, we know you will!

Great work by the Independent. You're becoming the "paper of record" when it comes to honest journalism, and now your web presence beats most of the broadcasters.

Inciweb confirms one of the great maps above:
Containment: 24%
Size: 8,357 acres

We believe the 'black lines' show the contained areas - so, e.g. Fairview seems to be safe (didn't look save 2 nights ago, when the scenery looked rather surrealistic: cars evacuating, smoke-filled air, CHP blocking off roads while the electricity was gone - and large flames rushing down into the upper Fairview area).

Thank you for the wonderful maps! The map showing the cut line and active front really helps us understand the situation. The photographs are great (or scary?). Thanks for listening and for doing such a fantastic job getting information to the public.

Indi has the best most up to date coverage.
The local TV and radio is at best out of date or non existant.
The reverse 911 (we have had 4 so far) are great, a really great idea. After the last one at 10.59 last night, I tried calling the 'fire info line' tel # given out by the County of SB, got a recorded message ! none of which was about the fire.
Went to the end of our road and spoke to the police who were really helpful and up to date with our local situation.
Tried getting info off SB News Press, but it seems they only want to give you news if you 'subscribe' - great community newspaper ! very useful. How come I can get 'free' and relatively up to date info off the BBC and most daily newspapers in the UK, - but not is SB ??
Thank goodness for the indi, you have a new reader !

Four 911-reverse calls? - That is hilarious!

Thank you Ray Ford and The Indy for giving us evacuated residents some idea of what is happening out there. You are the only thorough and frequently updated source of information we have in Santa Barbara!! Maybe you could serve as PIO for the County, the Forest Service, and all the other folks who are having trouble getting a clear story out! How can we nominate you all for a Pulitzer!?

Why was the map pulled? Are the Gestapo running the show? The lack of publically-released information is disgraceful, and makes me feel ashamed of the county that I have long called home. Thank you Ray Ford and the Indepedent for providing the best coverage thus far!

http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/show...

"Electrical transmission lines supplying the South Coast of S.B. County that were compromised have been restored to some residents however the 220,000KV and 66,000KV Electrical Transmission Lines that supply the Santa Barbara Front Country communities are also at risk along with numerous cultural and historic resources. Two injuries were reported yesterday that were smoke related."

This N. Fairview resident checks the Indy reports last thing at night and first thing in the morning. You are doing an incredible service to this community with your updates. Every time I check there is new, relevant information presented with care from one of your reporters - including reports obviously written in the wee hours in the morning when only you guys and the firefighters are still out working. It's of absolutely no surprise to me that you outshined your print competition in town. The surprise is that no other outlet including live television and radio has the information that your website does. Incredible work. Stunning, really. I agree on the Pulizer. Can Ben Preston, Ray Ford, Nick Welsh and co. all split it?

"briefing075.jpg" - I saved it locally; can email it to INDY if they don't have a backup of it...

They probably had to pull it. Iniciweb finally posted a map, but it's very old; it doesn't even show the south-western progress. Furthermore, the map makes no distinction between contained and active perimeter areas. Ray's Google map is much more current...

Inciweb seems to rehash the same info from another page, but with a massive delay; see http://gacc.nifc.gov/oscc/predictive/int...

As well, you can get some of the same info the news reporters are quoting from here (no update yet today):
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/fire/south/fwx/o...

And of course for the most relavent and best written news, you're already at the best place!

"Freedom of speech" is 'guaranteed' in the Bill of Rights; should that not work, we can always rely on the Bible: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". My personal interpretation of this Bill is that the right to true information is included in the Constitution...

Bty: I enjoyed that joke about living in a third world county...

What's so hilarious about the reverse 911 calls? I look forward to my daily call from the city. They've been very helpful and an excellent source of accurate information. I find it comforting that the city is looking out for us so well.

Thank you for reposting the map! It's by far the best that has been released thus far...

My apologies for jumping to a hasty conclusion. The county's admirable efforts to keep the community safe and fight the fire as best they can has not been matched by a reasonable attempt to provide the residents with timely information. I have to question whether keeping quiet really helps reduce panic!

Map with active fire areas is great and what I need to know. Your reporting is the best info I'm getting in San Francisco. At night when winds enhance the fire danger is when it's good to get updated. And thanks bloggers for specific info. Remember to give location when you write so you add to the reporting.

What's 'hilarious' about the four 911-reverse calls is that at some point they say that you suddenly have to evacuate - kind of 'out of the blue'...hasn't happened to us here at Fairview south of CO, but reading some of the stories at INDY it certainly feels like it.

Indy Staff,
Forgot. Google "update Gap Fire Goleta California". You might want to update headline to keep your site as a top destination.

Tanker 910 had to go...

http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/show...

"The DC-10 (T910) and 2 MAFFS were pulled off the fire do to poor visibility. Must be getting pretty smokey down there. In the Sierra Foothills east of Sacramento we are now getting the drift smoke up from Gap and West Basin fires."

Looks like the Gap fire is heading towards it's mother location - last year's Zaca fire?

For a map with all of the current evacuation areas, visit maps.google.com, and search for "Gap Fire Evacuations." I have created a map with that name, that I am updating with the evacuation order and warning areas, extent of the fire, information kiosks, and other points of interest. Feel free to leave comments on the map if there are any features you would like to see.

The direct link is here:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&a...

The direct link really helps, as searching by name results in lots of pages, which makes it difficult to find the one from ErikaB.

Looking at the wind/smoke being pushed west-north-west, has the Gap fire reached Condor point yet?

Thank you for the excellent maps -
Too bad it does us no good when the power goes out!

Don't count on the kiosks to give you anything up to date -
The Camino Real Kiosk had a map showing the fire perimeter as of July 2 !! right up to this morning (July 5th!)

I asked the attending Goleta City official why we couldn't get more up to date info such as the map above for us the computerless, TV-less and electrically challenged (i.e those closest to the fire without power and most in need) - he did not know and acted angry that I would even ask such a thing.. Thanks. Also don't count on KTMS 990 - see my comments and those of others at: http://www.independent.com/news/2008/
jul/02/gap-fire-intensifies/

These and other comments about this subject mysteriously dissappeared but I reposted them.

If KTMS hasn't suggested removal as they apparently did the first time (since I invited them to the discussion) I posted them again - have a look befroe it dissappears.

When the power is out or you are driving in your car after being evacuated and have no internet or TV - these are the only sources available of just where the fire perimeter is and they have NO IDEA - they don't send anyone into the field, they just report and rehash what they have heard at press conferences, or you are forced to drive around to see for yourself. This is not advisable when the roads are supposed to be used for evacuation and emergency services.

If you are the closest to the fire and your power goes out as is most likely the case - sadly, despite all of the emergency preparedness we have been hearing about from the City and County propaganda, you are on your own with zero communication - no idea where the fire is, how fast it is approaching, how your friends and loved ones might be doing, nothing up to date, nothing to help make decisions about whether to stay or go or help your friends- maybe a two day old fire perimeter map at a kiosk. That's it.

We have become a society dependent on power and internet for information - most people do not even have land phones that work without power! Imagine seeing a 50 foot flame rapidly approaching - the power goes out and turning on KTMS if you're lucky enough to have a battery powered radio and hearing the Dennis MIller show - imagine hastily packing everything but you hadn't charged your cel phone recently - no TV, no internet, information kiosks that are a joke, one local news station that can't do anything but make phone calls and rehash hours-old press conferences in between commercials and regular programming and you have imagined my life in Goleta over the past several days. And KEY news can't even rent a plane to give us a birds eye view - you have to depend on KTLA in Los Angeles who had far better coverage of our own local News.

God help us when there are Santa Ana winds pushing these fires. ...we got lucky this time, maybe.

Thank you very much for all your great info and maps. Wow, what would we do without you. You are #1 for me and many others with the best info and maps. Thanks. Good job.

haven't had a chance to read Ray's reporting, but he is there with a few of the residents who aren't interested in leaving the mountain. And he knows the mountain very well. I think a few of the residents want their homes to burn so they can get insurance money and rebuild.
I think it was here that someone asked why the forest service isn't doing controlled burns. I can suggest at least one answer. Have you seen the terrain?? Have you seen how this one is acting? Because of humans encroaching on the wildland its hard to do the burns that nature has always intended for this area to have. This area is designed to burn every 30 years. Also, even if they had more controlled burns, what do you think the wealthy in this area would say? And air quality! Dear God! There would be a public outcry and people with asthma would probably sue the forest service.
i will get off my podium now.

"Your tax dollars at work..."

For sure it looks like the fire made it over the edge to the other side of the Santa Inez mountains - any up-to-date news on that?

From Inciweb (an 'official' source):
Size: 8,649
Percent Contained: 28%

Fire picked up in the afternoon on the northeast flank and challenged Camino Cielo Road. The northeast flank moved well into Tecolote Canyon. Crews made good progress on the south flank with favorable conditions today and overnight.

Significant Events Fire progression continues on the northeast and northwest perimeters. The west perimeter of the fire has progressed into Tecolote Canyon

"Show me 10 good souls and I will spare the city..." - hey, Goleta, we were lucky...