Santa Barbara County's Sherpa brush fire grew slightly overnight Friday, passing the 6300 acre mark, but firefighters have the blaze 20% contained.
For the first time, fire commanders have projected when the blaze will be fully contained, but say they don't expect it to happen until next Friday.
The more than 1200 firefighters made substantial progress battling the blaze Friday, using more than 20 aircraft and backfires to help get partial containment of the fire for the first time. One firefighters suffered a minor injury.
No homes have been lost, but Santa Barbara County officials say there has been significant damage to some agricultural property, including orchards and grazing land. All mandatory evacuation orders remain in place.
On Friday, Santa Barbara County Supervisors declared a local state of emergency, to allow county resources to be accessed for dealing with the fire, and setting the stage for potential state and federal aid.
