Yesterday’s Gibraltar Fire near Montecito Peak in Santa Barbara County must have had fire officials worried. Ten air tankers and a DC-10 dropped a reported 85,000 gallons of fire retardant around the small ridge top burn.
Some majestic photos were floating around twitter and news sources yesterday with several air drops and helicopters putting on an air show near Montecito Peak. Past major fires in that area coupled with strong winds and incoming Santa Ana conditions forced the fire’s unified command to unleash an aerial assault to keep the fire from getting established in the mountains above Montecito.
Image from USFS
Aerial photos showed almost as much retardant on the ground as burned area. The Fire is currently being reported at 40 acres and 50% contained. Crews are expected to stay on scene through this evening to strengthen containment lines and to continue with the mop-up process. All evacuation advisories were lifted at 8am this morning as forward progress was stopped mid-afternoon on the 29th.
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