Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management monitoring Lake Fire Burn Scar during rainfall
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service are monitoring the Lake Fire Burn Scar for potential Debris Flow during current rainfall.
The Lake Fire sparked on July 5th and was the largest fire in California this year. It burned 38,664 acres and thousands of firefighters traveled from in and out of the state to contain the fire.
“The Lake Fire happened in the Lake Cachuma area. Northeast of highway 246. and the Figueroa Mountain area," said Santa Barbara County Fire Captain, Scott Safechuck.
Although the fire is now 100% contained, OEM and NWS are keeping an eye on the area for possible debris flow and landslides.
“That threshold for lake fire is 0.7 and that's per our. There's the potential for flash flooding, potentially for debris flow or, also just the increase of landslides," said OEM Director, Kelly Hubbard. Experts say burn scars can be hazardous. “Saturation, the more winds, the more likelihood that we might have rockfalls and debris on the sides of the road," said Hubbard.
Local first responders are on high alert with the current winter elements but local agencies want people to be advised and ready for any emergency alerts.
“Warning, meaning to get ready to go. Whether you have accessibility issues or maybe you have a senior parent or animals that we want you to leave when we talk about warning and then orders, definitely leave now. Immediate threat to life safety," said Hubbard.
Some alerts may tell people to evacuate while others may say to shelter in place.
“For flash flooding. We might also say shelter in place, go to high ground, because if there's not enough time for you to leave the area, we might tell you to stay indoors. Go to high ground, get to a safe location, said Hubbard.
The key is to stay informed, and tell others who live near the burn scar.
“Really, people should be paying attention to sbc.org, so they can see that coordination between the National Weather Service and Office of Emergency Management," said Safechuck.
