NICK UT/AP Santa Barbara County firefighter Cesar Martinez hauls hose up a slope as a wildfire burns west of Goleta in Santa Barbara County Thursday, June. The wildfire burning in rugged coastal canyons of Santa Barbara County is growing as it feeds on vegetation that hasn't burned in 70 years.
By John Scheibe of the Ventura County Star
Crews struggled to contain a widlfire that burned about 1,400 acres west of Santa Barbara as smoke from the blaze drifted over to Ventura County.
There were 1,230 people battling the fire on Thursday night as flames reached Highway 101, trapping some vehicles traveling in the area, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The freeway was closed from Winchester Canyon Road on the northbound side to Mariposa Reina on the southbound side. It was not known how long the freeway would be closed, officials said.
The number of personnel on scene had increased from the 800 reported Thursday afternoon. Among them were an additional 16 people from the Ventura County Fire Department, officials said. They were requested late Thursday and were bringing special off-road fire engines with them, authorities said.
When the fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon and was still 5 to 10 acres just north of Refugio State Beach, 22 local firefighters were sent to help battle the blaze.
They were on the scene with crews from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, city of Santa Barbara Fire Department, Montecito Fire Protection District, Vandenberg Air Force Base and San Luis Obispo County on Wednesday night. Air tankers and helicopters were also there to drop water and fire retardant.
But firefighters said winds fanned the flames in the evening, creating a large wildfire by daybreak on Thursday.
"The fuel, topography and weather have been very challenging, to say the least," Santa Barbara County Fire Department Capt. Dave Zaniboni said during a news conference late Thursday morning at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta.
Authorities said at the news conference that they fully expected the fire to increase in size.
The fire pushed farther into Los Padres National Forest to the north overnight Wednesday.
By Thursday night, the blaze was estimated at 1,400 acres, but officials said the number may not be exact because smoke in the are made it difficult to obtain accurate information.
Crews are also finding it difficult to find and hold the fire line, officials said.
One of their concerns heading toward the weekend was warmer temperatures and lower humidity levels as they try to get a handle on the blaze, Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Eric Peterson said.
"We have zero containment on the fire as of now," Peterson said shortly before noon Thursday. The blaze, which is being called the Sherpa Fire, was proving hard to contain along its eastern flank in the direction of Santa Barbara, where the terrain is rougher and difficult to access, he said.
The Sherpa fire broke out just after U.S. Forest Service officials announced a series of fire restrictions there.
HOMES THREATENED
Authorities said 60 homes in Refugio Canyon were threatened by the fire, as were 80 homes at El Capitan Ranch. Those homes had been evacuated Thursday.
Adding to the danger was the fact that vegetation in the area had not burned since 1955, authorities said, so a lot of fuel for the fire had accumulated.
The fire was reported at 3:21 p.m. Wednesday, not far from where Refugio Road meets Highway 101 west of El Capitan State Beach.
It grew steadily as afternoon turned to evening, said Zaniboni, who blamed the sundowner winds for helping to spread the fire.
Sundowner winds from 35 to 45 mph were reported again on Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
These winds come off the Santa Ynez Mountains to the north, heating up as they blow to the ocean. The winds dry the air, making it hard to fight fires.
"The potential for the fire to leapfrog south is there," Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said at Thursday's news conference.
Authorities had issued 428 emergency notifications to area residents and businesses by late morning Thursday, Brown said. The vast majority of these calls were mandatory evacuation orders. No structures had burned as of Thursday afternoon.
The American Red Cross opened an emergency shelter at 300 N. Turnpike Road in Santa Barbara for those displaced by the fire, Brown said. Santa Ynez High School was notified that a shelter may need to open there.
The mandatory evacuations included areas around Refugio Canyon as well as Las Flores, Venadito and El Capitan State Park and Refugio campgrounds. Hikers and others in Los Padres National Forest were ordered out of the area, officials said.
While the danger of fire is high across many parts of California, Scott Jalbert, a unit chief with Cal Fire, said Thursday: "We're fortunate that we don't have other fires in the state right now. This has enabled authorities to send more firefighting resources to the Sherpa Fire."
Also evacuated from the area have been animals, including 83 horses, said Lisa Kenyon, a supervisor with the Santa Barbara Animal Shelter. The horses were taken to the Earl Warren Showgrounds and were reported to be in good condition, she said. Anyone in the evacuation area who needs help with animals can call 681-4332.
AIR WARNING
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department issued an air-quality alert as smoke from the fire blanketed part of the region, said Dr. Takashi Wada, department director.
"Older adults and children should avoid being outdoors," Wada said.
A similar warning was issued for Ventura County on Thursday afternoon by the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District as smoke from the Sherpa fire created a haze over the area.
Jim Brown, 85, said he owns an avocado ranch next to where the fire started Wednesday.
He said he had to spend Wednesday night elsewhere after not being allowed back to his ranch.
He said the Sherpa Fire started in the same area as the Refugio Fire did in 1955. He remembers that fire well.
"That fire started early on the morning of Sept. 6, 1955," he told a group who had gathered around him after Thursday's news conference.
He said he hopes crews get control of the Sherpa Fire sooner than they did the Refugio Fire. That fire burned for 10 days and destroyed about 77,000 acres of brush, scarring a 25 miles of the Santa Ynez Mountains from the San Marcos pass west to Refugio Road.
