La Brea Fire

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.[3] 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.[2] 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.[4]

La Brea Fire
Plume from the La Brea Fire on August 15
Location	Santa Barbara, California
Coordinates	34.95°N 119.978°W / 34.95; -119.978
Statistics[1][2]
Date(s)	August 8, 2009 (2009-08-08) – August 22, 2009 (2009-08-22)
Burned area	89,489 acres (362 km2)
Cause	A cooking fire at a marijuana drug trafficking operation.
Buildings destroyed	2
Map

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.[5] 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. [6] At least 29 Engines, 17 Crews, 4 Bulldozers, 56 Water Tenders, 5 Aerial firefighting Helicopters and 878 firefighters were deployed to fight the blaze.[7] (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.[8]

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