VIDEO: Firefighters Wednesday were continuing to battle a growing brush fire which sparked west of Santa Barbara, threatened homes and shut down a portion of Highway 101. The Alisal Fire broke out before 2:30 p.m. Monday amid powerful winds near Alisal Lake in the Santa Ynez Mountains. It was burning in dense chaparral, brush and grass, with thick smoke visible throughout the county. There was no word of a cause.
At last report Wednesday morning, the fire had burned 14,500 acres with 5% containment. It is burning in an area that has not seen a wildfire since 1955.
“Couple that with 40 to 50 mile per hour winds, extensive drought and steep topography,” a Santa Barbara County Fire Department official told CBSLA Tuesday. “It’s just the perfect storm of a fire that is going to be very challenging to contain and to control.”