The Zaca Fire was a wildfire

Wildfire

A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...

 which began burning northeast of Buellton, California

Buellton, California

Buellton is a small city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The city of Buellton is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley...

, in Santa Barbara County, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The fire started on July 4, 2007 and by August 31, it had burned over 240207 acres (972.084 km²), making it California's second largest fire in recorded history after the Cedar Fire

Cedar Fire

The Cedar Fire was a human-caused wildfire that burned out of control through a large area of San Diego County, in Southern California, in October 2003...

 of 2003. The fire was 100% contained on September 2, 2007. It was declared controlled on October 29, 2007.

The fire was started as a result of sparks from a grinding machine on private property which was being used to repair a water pipe.

By August 12 "significant" progress was being made on the fire through the combined efforts of firefighters and aircraft. Firefighters were able to turn the direction of the fire away from the Paradise Road community.

As of September 2, the fire had cost $117 million to fight, and was 100% contained. The fire had primarily burnt away from populated areas in extremely steep and rugged areas of the Los Padres National Forest

Los Padres National Forest

Los Padres National Forest is a forest located in southern and central California, which includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Monterey, extending inland...

 and the Santa Ynez River

Santa Ynez River

The Santa Ynez River is one of the largest rivers on the Central Coast of California. It is long, flowing from east to west through the Santa Ynez Valley, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Surf, near Vandenberg Air Force Base and the city of Lompoc....

Recreation Area. It only destroyed one Forest Service outbuilding. Its impacts on the environment and area water resources are not yet fully known.

External links

• CDF—California Dept. Forestry: Maps of the Zaca Fire
• California Fire News: daily coverage of the "Zaca Fire" wildland fire including fire perimeter maps, photos - Over 100 pages labeled "Zaca Fire"
• Associated Press: "Giant fire in Los Padres forest to cross into Ventura County"
• Los Angeles Times - "Santa Barbara fire flares anew"
• Santa Maria Times - "Zaca Fire takes unexpected turn".