California Fires Finally Contained

Los Padres National Forest, CA (AHN) – After weeks of work by hundreds of personnel, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection over the weekend finally declared the fires in the Los Padres National Forest and in Santa Cruz county extinguished.

The La Brea fire that began in the afternoon of Aug. 8 in Santa Barbara County was 100 percent contained on Saturday, but some areas of Los Padres National Forest remain closed. A total of 901 personnel using 56 helicopters and 17 bulldozers had worked to control the blaze, which was started by a cooking fire at a marijuana drug trafficking operation.

The fire grew to 89,489 acres, burning 10,000 acres a day and over 20,000 in one mid-week day.

In Santa Cruz, the Lockheed fire was successfully contained late Sunday after burning 7,817 acres since the night of Aug. 12. All evacuations have been lifted, but CalFire says threat levels remain low in parts of Bonny Doon and Swanton and that residents should be on the lookout for possible fire activity in the areas.

Fifty engines, five bulldozers and 28 water tenders were used by 819 personnel to extinguish the Lockheed fire, the cause of which is still being investigated. Costs of the operation totaled $26.6 million.

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