Local Fire Crews Sent to Help Battle Junction Fire

About 50 Santa Barbara County firefighters are helping fight the Junction Fire burning near Oakhurst.

Three strike teams from the Santa Barbara County area are battling the flames. Two of those teams are mixed groups composed of firefighters from several departments in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The third strike team is made completely of Santa Barbara County Fire Department firefighters.

The Junction Fire has already destroyed eight buildings and charred 1,200 acres. Hundreds of people are being evacuated as it inches closer to homes. Local crews will be helping Oakhurst area firefighters get control of the flames and hopefully save homes.

“Our strike team left around 9:30 last night,” said Captain David Sadecki with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. “Our primary duty is to save lives and property so we are going to make sure that people are evacuated. Then we are going to try and protect those homes so we are going to get into those wild land urban interfaces and try to get between the fire and the home if its safe.”

This group of firefighters will be at the Junction Fire for two weeks.