Geological event sparks hillside fire at Hope Ranch

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara County Fire Department was called to the infamous Hope Ranch Volcano Sunday afternoon for a rare hillside fire.

The SBCFD described this as an ongoing historical activity that happens as the hillside will emit smoke that becomes visible though it has run for many years.

Many have described the phenomenon as a small-scale volcano as smoke spews up from the plastic drain.
But it's not a volcano. It's a "solfatara," a volcanic vent where super heated gases escape from the cliffs of Santa Barbara County.

Santa Barbara County Fire Battalion Chief Adam Estabrook describes how it happens:
“It needs three things to cause fire. You need the heat which is being caused by the shale and the rocks grinding together. You have the oil, which is our combustible component. It can burn, but what it needs is oxygen. So when our cliffs on the shore start eroding away, it allows that oxygen to get in there. And then therefore it gives the three components you need for fire, oxygen, fuel and heat," said Estabrook.

No structures are threatened at the moment and the fire has been isolated to a plastic drainage pipe with surrounding vegetation, according to the SBCFD.

“They'll be using metal instead of plastic now because that he wants it does create so much heat and fire. It will cause those petroleum drainage pipes to catch on fire along with the vegetation. So we're trying to limit what will catch on fire in that area," said Estabrook.
 

The Fire Department says these fires do not pose an immediate threat but they do cause smoke and the smell of sulfur in the area.