Firefighters Knock Down Brush Fire near Isla Vista
Santa Barbara County firefighters spent Thursday night and Friday morning gaining the upper hand on a brush fire that broke out near Slough Road and Seaway Drive near Isla Vista. The fire is near Devereux Lagoon at the Coal Oil Point Preserve.
Firefighters first responded at 9:41 p.m. Thursday to reports of dry brush along the lagoon. Later the fire grew and consumed more brush. Live coverage of the fire on KEYT NewsChannel 3 and KCOY 12 Central Coast News also showed mature trees going up in flames.
While winds were blowing up to 25 miles an hour at the time, they were moving the flames toward the lagoon and the ocean, creating a natural stop to the flames’ advance.
The fire is on UCSB property in an area known as the Tank Farm. Nine pieces of fire equipmentnes responded to fight the fire overnight. Flames came within 100 feet of oil tanks which are owned by the Veneco Oil Company. One residence east of the fire was briefly evacuated overnight when the winds shifted.
Investigations into the cause of the fire centered on two possibilities: Law enforcement officer were speaking with a “person of interest” to determine if the fire was set intentionally. Investigators are probing if any fireworks were set off where the fire broke out. The other report being investigated was of a downed power line at the time the fire broke out.
As of Friday morning, the blaze was estimated at 10 acres with 20 percent containment.
