Full containment of the Cruces fire that sparked Wednesday morning near Highway 1 three miles west of Highway 101 is expected by 6 p.m. Thursday, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said.
By 6 a.m., approximately 18 hours after the vegetation fire broke out, crews reported reaching 40 percent containment on the 80-acre fire. Containment will continue to increase throughout the day as crews mop up the area. Crews originally thought the fire to be closer to 150 acres in size but revised size estimates as visibility improved. According to Santa Barbara County Fire spokesperson Mike Eliason, the size of the fire may shift as crews map the perimeter with GPS.