La Brea Fire

La Brea Fire
Plume from the La Brea Fire on August 15
Date(s)	August 8, 2009 (2009-08-08) – August 22, 2009 (2009-08-22)
Location	Santa Barbara, California
Coordinates	34.95°N 119.978°W / 34.95; -119.978
Statistics
Burned area	89,489 acres (362 km2)
Impacts
Structures destroyed	2
Ignition
Cause	A cooking fire at a marijuana drug trafficking operation.
Map

The La Brea Fire was a fast-moving 2009 wildfire which occurred in Southern California in the United States. The fire began near La Brea Creek in Santa Barbara County, in the Los Padres National Forest. The fire burned 89,489 acres (140 sq mi; 362 km²) of chaparral between August 8 and August 22, 2009, but only destroyed two structures—a cabin and an unused ranger station. The huge Zaca Fire burned in the same region in 2007, and some of the same fire lines were used to contain the La Brea Fire.

The fire was first reported on Saturday August 8 at 2:45 PM in the San Rafael Wilderness Area and grew to a size of 1,300 acres by nightfall. By Sunday evening its size had rapidly expanded to approximately 10,000 acres. Located in a remote area with inaccessible terrain the inferno grew rapidly reaching 20,000 acres in a few days. Under the command of Incident Commander Jeanne Pincha-Tulley, who leads California Interagency Incident Management Team 3, and unified command with CALFIRE and Santa Barbara County Fire, the firefighters battling the fire faced steep terrain which became a factor for the cautious pace in the containment. On August 22 the fire was 100% contained with an overall burn size of 89,489 acres. The Manzana Schoolhouse which is Santa Barbara County Historic Landmark miraculously survived unscathed. La Brea Fire officials were considering using a fire retardant wrap to protect the old wooden structure but structure protection efforts by firefighters kept the popular site from going up in flames. At least 29 Engines, 17 Crews, 4 Bulldozers, 56 Water Tenders, 5 Aerial firefighting Helicopters and 878 firefighters were deployed to fight the blaze. (These numbers differ substantially depending on the source)

A propane stove at an illegal marijuana plantation inside the National Forest is believed to have ignited the fire. The plantation held approximately 30,000 marijuana plants, worth an estimated US$90 million. Prior to the blaze, seventeen other plantations hidden in the forest had been discovered by authorities, who destroyed more than 225,000 plants worth over US$675 million. No suspects were captured at the site, but investigators did find an AK-47 assault rifle, and warned the public that the suspects could be armed and dangerous.

Progression of the La Brea Fire through August 20, along with outlines of the Zaca Fire (2007) and Wellman Fire (1966).