“We hope the lessons learned will stick,” said Captain Eli Iskow of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. “Preparedness is so important and the public has to be responsible for their own property.”

 

The blaze, which burned for two months exactly, now has the distinction of being the second largest wildfire in California history; the largest fire was the Cedar Fire in San Diego County that burned 273, 246 acres in 2003. The Zaca Fire came close, consuming more than 240,000 acres in the Santa Barbara and Ventura County wilderness.

 

Firefighters officially declared a victory over the stubborn wildfire on Sep. 3. But, they are not out of the woods yet. Although the fire is 100 percent contained, it is not under control.

 

Control is when containment lines are expected to hold under future conditions. Full control is not expected for several weeks. To achieve this goal, fire crews are still actively combing the area looking for hot spots and flare-ups. The fires prolonged run had some residents asking what was taking so long.

 

“Certain fires, we just are not going to be able to put out quickly,” Iskow said. Historically dry weather conditions, rugged terrain, inaccessible roads and vegetation that had not burned in more than 100 years were just some of the challenges firefighters faced. Iskow says, crews worked 24-hour shifts because they spent most of their time just trying to access the remote areas where the fire was burning.

 

But, with all the problems the Zaca Fire presented to fire officials, Iskow said, “We had the luxury of watching the fire move slowly from the North County to the south.” He referred to the colossal Painted Cave fire in 1993, which left hundreds of demolished homes in its wake. “Fires like that move at 40 to 50 mph, in those instances, there is nothing firefighters can do,” Iskow said.

 

The Zaca fire had the potential of similar results, and at some points it moved in the direction of thousands of homes in what is referred to as the urban-wildlife interface. According to Iskow, predicting the fire’s movements, and keeping the public out of its path was the most difficult aspect in battling the blaze.

The burden of the tenacious blaze for Summerland resident Maribel Ortega was the ever-present ash that blanketed cars and kept people inside their homes. Also, Ortega was also concerned about the uncertainty of the fire’s direction.

 

“I would go to sleep at night hoping it wouldn’t come towards us,” she said. But, in the midst of her worries she said she found solace in knowing that the firefighters were doing all they could.

 

 “I felt protected knowing firefighters came from all over the state to help and I knew we weren’t alone,” she said.

 

At the fires zenith, more than 3,000 firefighters, numerous air tankers and helicopters were combating the fire. The total cost to date stands at $120 million. The Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office is going after the persons they believe are responsible for igniting the wildfire. After the conclusion of an investigation, prosecutors filed criminal charges against Jose Cabrera of Santa Ynez, Santiago Cervantes of Santa Maria and property owners Rancho La Laguna, LLC. The District Attorney’s office says the fire was started by improper use of a welding torch, and injured several firefighters. The accused are facing six counts, four of them felonies, including causing a fire with great bodily injury, and recklessly causing a fire of a structure or forest, a misdemeanor charge of  welding torch carelessness, plus two special allegations of arson with aggravating factors. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned at the Santa Maria Superior Court on Sep. 20. They are facing possible jail time, fines and probation. In the meantime, 300 firefighters are on the scene and portions of the Los Padres National Forest will remain closed for some time.