Wildfire prompts evacuations in Santa Barbara, partial closure of Highway 101
A fire in Santa Barbara prompted evacuations as it threatened over 100 structures in southern California.
The Alisal fire started on Monday afternoon near the Alisal Reservoir and has since spread to cover about 6,000 acres of “the bone dry vegetation” in the area, according to the Santa Barbara Fire Department.
The fire department added that 600 firefighters were responding to the blaze on Tuesday, and evacuation orders were issued in response to the blaze.
In a tweet, the fire department’s public information officer, Mike Eliason, added that the flames had “jumped the four lanes of Highway 101.”
#Alisal Fire – Having jumped the four lanes of Highway 101, flames continue to burn early Tuesday morning along the Gaviota Coast. pic.twitter.com/OY4ih7a5Ln
— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) October 12, 2021
As a result of the growing fire, some parts of Highway 101 were closed to traffic.
About one in every eight acres of California land has been burned by wildfires in the past decade as officials continue to warn of the dangers of increasing temperatures and dry conditions in the state.
The Hill has reached out to the Santa Barbara Fire Department for more information.
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