An army of firefighters in Santa Barbara County is making progress towards containing the Sherpa brush fire, which is burning in rugged mountains, and canyons about 20 miles west of Santa Barbara The blaze grew from 1200 acres Thursday to 5800 acres Friday, but it also went from zero percent containment to 20%
More than 1200 firefighters aided by more than 20 aircraft are hitting the fire hard today. The wind calmed down early Thursday, but there’s concern about the potential for the return of sundowner winds Friday and Saturday nights.
No homes have been damaged in the sparsely populated area, but overnight flareups along Highway 101 near Refugio, and El Capitan State Beaches closed the highway two nights in a row. Lieutenant Steve Larsen, with the CHP, says while the highway reopened at 4 Friday morning, he warns more closures are possible.
Santa Barbara County Supervisors declared a local state of emergency on Friday. County Supervisor Doreen Farr says while the good news is no one has been hurt, and no homes lost, there appears to be significant damage to farms, and ranches in the area.
Firefighters say with a heat wave in the forecast for the weekend, they are racing the clock to get the upper hand on the blaze. The fire started Wednesday afternoon off of Refugio Road.
The cause is still under investigation, but officials say at this point it doesn’t appear to be suspicious in origin.
