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W E DN E SDAY, O C TOBE R 13, 2 021
Alisal Fire claims 13,400 acres Santa Barbara County declares state of emergency on day two
Flames consume the hillside next to Highway 101, and winds push the smoke toward the coast.
By MADISON HIRNEISEN and ANNELISE HANSHAW
Canyon on Tuesday and moved toward the burn scar of the 2016 Sherpa Fire, Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Chris Mailes told the City Council. He maintained there was no current threat to Santa Barbara. Chief Mailes said Tuesday that the fire is starting to move down to the ocean area in several places and is starting to trek east, though it continues to burn through Refugio Canyon and to the west of the canyon. Northwest winds of up to 40 mph pushed the fire southeast on Tuesday, according to Chief Mailes. The wind’s speed prohibited crews from utilizing fixed-wing aircraft, though
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITERS
The Alisal Fire expanded to more than 13,400 acres Tuesday evening as firefighters continued attacking the blaze amidst windy, smoky conditions. The fire was 5% contained as of 7 p.m. The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors declared a local state of emergency Tuesday afternoon in response to the fire. The board also asked that Gov. Gavin Newsom reinforce the county’s state of emergency. The fire, which began Monday afternoon near Alisal Reservoir, established itself in Refugio
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Ventura and Santa Barbara County firefighters cut back brush to access the electrical box at a ranch off Highway 101.
helicopters delivered water drops over the flames. Crews were hopeful that the winds would die down Tuesday
evening. The Office of Emergency Management extended an evacuation area to the area east
of Calle Mariposa Reina, west of Arroyo Hondo, and south of West Camino Cielo at 3 p.m. Tuesday — 20 hours since the last change
in evacuations. Officials said Tuesday that about 100 to 150 structures Please see FIRE on A3
Dos Pueblos HS acts as shelter during Alisal Fire By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
More than a dozen individuals found shelter in the gym of Dos Pueblos High School on Monday night as the Alisal Fire forced evacuations in the area of El Capitan State Beach and closed a portion of Highway 101 and Amtrak rails in north county. About 18 people sought shelter at Dos Pueblos High School overnight Monday, many of whom had been evacuated off an Amtrak train that was headed to stops in northern Santa Barbara County and San Luis Obispo. The temporary shelter was set up by the American Red Cross Pacific Coast Chapter. Passengers on the Amtrak train told the News-Press on Tuesday that they were directed to the shelter after their train returned to Santa Barbara as a result of the Alisal Fire burning in close proximity to the Highway 101 and the railroad tracks. The train returned to Santa Barbara shortly after pulling out of the station Monday, according to passengers. The fire, which began on Monday afternoon near Alisal Reservoir, had burned around 2,000 acres as of 9 p.m. Monday night, but swelled to about 6,000 acres by Tuesday morning. On Please see EVACUATION on A2
ANNELISE HANSHAW / NEWS-PRESS
A horse stands in a stall at Earl Warren Showgrounds just less than 24 hours after being evacuated during the Alisal Fire.
Equine Evac mobilizes for blaze By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
MADISON HIRNEISEN / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Noelia Villarreal was among the Amtrak passengers who stayed overnight at Dos Pueblos as a result of the Alisal Fire.
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emergencies. The animals are housed at Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real in Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara County Animal Services activated Equine Evac around 3 p.m. Monday, and 24 hours later, 47 animals were in stalls at Earl Warren with 18 more on their way. Monday night, 10 sworn-in Equine Evac volunteers assisted. There are a total of 50 sworn-in Please see EQUINE on A2
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
Staff at Circle Bar B Guest Ranch and Stables were amazed as they saw strangers with horse trailers pull into their ranch off Refugio Road in Goleta. The helping hands — or more importantly, trailers — were sent by the Santa Barbara Equine Assistance and Evac Team Inc, or Equine Evac for short. It took from around 3-10 p.m.
Monday for ranch hands to evacuate 57 horses, but Circle Bar B staff member Joe Rolak estimates it would have taken four times as long to leave the ranch without Equine Evac’s help. “They bring our risk level down so much with all their help,” he told the News-Press. Equine Evac is a volunteer organization, born out of the 1990 Painted Cave Fire, which assists owners of large animals in
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 13-21-22-32-43 Mega: 1
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 6-2-4-2
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 21-26-56-61-65 Mega: 4
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 5-7-8-19-30
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 10-09-04 Time: 1:46.32
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 12-17-30-45-62 Meganumber: 5
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 7-4-1 / Midday 1-5-6