Gibraltar Fire Crews on the Lines All Weekend in Montecito

The Gibraltar fire in the Montecito hills may appear out, but crews will remain on the scene all weekend to make sure there are no glowing embers or flare ups.

“It is in a tough place,” said Michael Scott with the U.S. Forest Service, Rincon station. He is one of the Incident Commanders for this fire. The rugged fire zone has few breaks, and steep canyons aiming directly at populated areas. Winds can gust over 50 miles per hour when Sundowner conditions exist.

Pre evacuation plans and maps are in place for the Montecito community . Many citizens are on an alert system for text messages. There is also a local radio frequency with advisories.

He says the army of fire trucks in the area yesterday has been scaled back but hand crews are circling the fire zone and using special technology to look for hot spots. Heat detection tools the shape of “wands” are used to locate any heat or hidden embers.

Helicopters over head can use infrared technology to find heat and relay the information to the ground crews.

Over the weekend the Cold Spring Trail, now closed, may reopen up to Montecito Peak, right before the fire zone. The area beyond that is the burn area, and then another half mile to East Camino Cielo.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation but a team of experts in fires is on the scene to look for clues.