Ojai Day Fire Update

I live in Ojai, CA where the Day Fire has been burning the wilderness for a couple of weeks now. One of our local community, Tyler Suchman, who started the Ojai Post has been instrumental in deciminating information about the fire's status. Here is the latest report and make sure to visit Ojai Post for current, up to date information. Ojai Fire Watch: Day Fire - 9/24 Sunday Thread DAY FIRE RESOURCE PAGE [[Update: 6:26pm] Weather - NWS / Ojai (5:59 report) Fire Weather Warning - Red Flag Warning Is Cancelled...The National Weather Service in Los Angeles / Oxnard has cancelled the red flag warnings. [As of: 5:12pm] VC Sheriff's Dept (12:40pm report) All precautionary and recommended evacuations are still in effect. All road closures are still in effect for non-residents. All four evacuation shelters are still open and available to evacuees. Pine Mountain Club is no longer available for animal sheltering/evacuation. At 12:30 p.m., a DC-10 dropped 12,000 gallons of fire retardant on the Nordoff Ridge (this was the first useage of this plane in an ACTUAL fire), over an area that is 3/8 to 3/4 of a mile wide. 127,500 acres have been affected by the Day Fire, which is 40% contained at this time. Currently there are over 3,200 fire personnel, and over 45 aircraft (32 helicopters, 8 air tankers, 4 air attack craft, 1 DC-10) battling the fire. [ed.note: two days ago we had a report that the DC-10 was not being used because of bureaucratic red tape. Looks like the paperwork got done.] [Update: 2:58pm] KVTA.com has some interesting new info on the DC-10 Jumbo Jet. [Update: 4:01pm] blogger Mark Storer reports that the DC-10 was previously used to effectively fight a July Yucca Valley fire. [Update: 4:04pm] a 3:55pm VCSD update announces the Santa Paula Meeting, already covered below. [Update: 5:12pm] a 5:00pm VCSD update announces: "Sheriff's Officials have been in contact with Ojai Unified School District officials. Assessments are currently being made about the possibility of school closures for tomorrow (09/25/06). We will post the decision here as soon as it is confirmed." [No Change In Status: 4:58pm] VC Fire Dept (10:35am report) Fire Engine Strike Teams are currently on-scene for structure protection in the Upper Ojai area. Reports have been received of visible flames to the east. There is a Recommended Evacuation along highway 150 from Upper Ojai - Sulphur Mountain Rd. area to Steckel Park area. Fire is currently being seen at the top of Topa Topa Bluffs and adjacent mountain areas but has not gone over. It is firmly established in the head of the Santa Paula Creek and is working its way downslope toward the mouth of the creek. Erratic winds may cause unpredictable fire behavior. Fire personnel are on-scene. (read more at the VCFD page... [in Spanish]) [No Change In Status: 4:58pm] Forest Service / Inciweb.org: (8:42am report) Size: 127,569 acres, Containment: 40 percent, Cost: $33,685,016, Line to Build: 59 miles. Weather Conditions: Red Flag warning in effect through 6 pm tonight, for strong offshore winds and low humidity. Full report after the jump... [Update: 6:39pm] OUSD (5:45pm report) "The fire department has made excellent progress in pushing the Day Fire off of the Topa Topa ridge today. As of this afternoon, the fire appears to be moving away from Upper Ojai. The fire department has downgraded the evacuation to "precautionary" (6 hours notice) instead of the "recommended" (3 hours notice) that had been in place for Upper Ojai. Highway 150 will remain closed tomorrow. Because the fire department is anticipating heavy fire vehicle traffic on Highway 150, they have requested that we close Summit School and ask parents to stay off of the road as much as possible. This will allow our fire fighters to do their job much more efficiently. Summit School will be open on Tuesday, September 26 unless the fire situation changes. So to summarize, although the danger has lessened, we are closing Summit School to assist in reducing traffic on Highway 150 tomorrow. Stay home and read a good book! All other bus routes for high school and junior high students in the Upper Ojai are expected to be running tomorrow." [New: 1:52pm] Santa Paula Community Meeting on the Day Fire When: Monday, September 25, at 6:30 p.m. Where: Santa Paula Community Center, 530 West Main Street, Santa Paula Fire and law enforcement officials will update residents on the status and strategies for containment of the Day Fire. For further information contact: Ventura Co. Fire Info. Center at (805) 388-4276 Los Padres NF Fire Info. Center at (805) 961-5770 News Story 10:03am AP: Firefighters Face Hot, Dry Winds One of the "spot" blazes burned about 7,000 acres in the canyons above Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula along Highway 150, about 75 miles north of Los Angeles. The campus was evacuated late Saturday. Plumes of reddish smoke were visible as students raced between dorms gathering books and clothing. Charlie Kaiser, 20, walked to his car carrying a surfboard wrapped in a blanket and several books. "If we get Monday off, I want to go surfing," Kaiser said. Recent Photo: 10:10am photo courtesy of Ginny in Upper Ojai who writes: The smoke is blowing toward Dennison, so you folks in Ojai should start seeing action soon Oil Fields Reader Kira asks: Where are the Sespe oil fields in relation to Ojai? How close is the fire to them? What do the officials expect if the fire reaches the oil fields? Could we see uncontrollable fire burning for long periods of time? [Update: 3:09pm] reader mk answers: the Sespe Oil Fields are just north of Filmore. They burned over during the Piru Fire a couple years ago. They might be shut down, but I wouldn't expect long term oil fires. [Update: 4:12pm] Vacuum: Still no mention of the Day Fire, no resource links, nothing from our elected officials: Elton Gallegly, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Audra Strickland, nor the City of Ojai(!) Thank you to the Ojai community for passing the word around and contributing in the comments and via email. Additional updates and questions should be directed to: tyler -at- ojaipost dot com. Shout out to our hosting provider, Digital Housing, which is doing a great job keeping this site humming under an increasingly heavy load. And a big tip of our community hat to the 3,200 men and women who are working incredibly hard to save our local towns. Their efforts are invaluable, and we owe them our deep gratitude. If you see fire workers, officials and other personnel around Ojai, take a moment to let them know that they are doing a great job (unless they are lugging a hose through your backyard - just let them do their thing). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Information Update Los Padres/Angeles National Forest Phone: (805) 961-5770 September 24, 2006, 6:00 a.m Fire Name: Day Fire Date and Time of Fire Start: September 4, 2006 at 1:55 p.m. Location: Los Padres National Forest, Angeles National Forest, Sespe Wilderness Kind of Fuels: Heavy mixed brush with scattered timber Cause: Day Fire was human-caused, resulting from a member of the public burning a small amount of material within the Los Padres National Forest. The investigation is ongoing. Size: 127,569 acres Containment: 40 percent Cost: $33,685,016 Line to Build: 59 miles Weather Conditions: Red Flag warning in effect through 6 pm tonight, for strong offshore winds and low humidity. Expect East winds of 20-30 mph w/gusts to 45 this morning, decreasing this afternoon. Max temps – Valleys: 80-92. Ridgetops: 60-69. Min. RH – 5-15% above 3000’ / 15-25% below. Winds–Valley: 4-8 mph – gusts 20 mph. Ridgetops: 20-30 mph – gusts to 45 mph. Fire Behavior: Santa Ana winds surfaced 10:00 Saturday and fire crossed over Piru Creek near Alamo Creek.May spot across north side again due to wind eddies in canyon bottom. Fire is established at head of Santa Paula Creek, working downslope towards the mouth of the creek. Agency Jurisdiction: US Forest Service, Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County Fire. Agencies Involved: U.S. Forest Service, Los Angeles County Fire, California Dept. of Forestry and Fire Protection, Bureau of Land Management, California Highway Patrol, Ventura County Fire, National Weather Service, Santa Barbara County Fire, Cal-Trans, and many assisting agencies. Incident Commanders: Mike Dietrich / George Custer Equipment and Personnel: 73 Hand crews 28 Helicopters 44 Dozers 270 Engines 500 Overhead 45 Water tenders Total Number of Personnel: 3,237 Threatened: Residences and commercial buildings; recreational campsites; water quality due to post-fire debris flows; electric transmission lines and gas pipelines; cell phone and radio communications; Sespe Condor Sanctuary; arroyo toad, California red-legged frog, and Sespe River steelhead habitat. Structures Destroyed: One Structures Threatened: 2049 Injuries: One [ed.note: 10news.com is reporting that its a bee sting (!)] Evacuations: Recommended evacuation notice for Ojai – Sulphur Mt. Rd to Steckel Park along Hwy 150. Precautionary evacuation orders in effect for the areas of Hwy 33 from Rose Valley Rd to Lockwood Valley Rd./Hwy 150 Santa Paula to Thatcher School/Lockwood Valley Rd from Hwy 33 to Frazier Mt. Park Rd. Shelters at Nordhoff High School in Ojai/Sacred Heart Church-Ventura/Santa Paula Community Ctr. Animal evacuations:Call 1-888-223-7387 Special Information: Hwy. 33 is closed northbound at Wheeler Gorge after the tunnels, southbound at Lockwood Valley Rd. Lockwood Valley Road is closed at Lake of the Woods Hwy 150, Mupu to Reeves RD. See website for national forest closure information.