Firefighters on the Central Coast have their hands full with two major brush fires burning in Santa Barbara County, both which have forced evacuations.
What's called the Whittier Fire broke out just before 2 p.m. Saturday off of Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley, about 12 miles east of Solvang. The 500 plus acre fire has prompted mandatory evacuations at Lake Cachuma, and for the area from Armour Ranch Road to Paradise Road. There's an evacuation warning in place from Paradise Road to the top of San Marcos Pass.
Some structures have been reported destroyed at Camp Whittier, just south of Highway 154, near the area where the fire started. Highway 154 is closed from Highway 246 to Santa Barbara.
Meanwhile, the Alamo Fire northeast of Santa Maria has grown to 19,000 acres burned.
The fire, which began Thursday afternoon, has led to evacuation orders for the Blazing Saddles, Pine Canyon, Buckhorn Ridge, Colson, and White Rock Road areas, as well Tepusquet to Santa Maria Mesa Road. The fire is burning in both Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, and has closed Highway 166 from Santa Maria to New Cuyama since Thursday afternoon.
The Alamo Fire is 10% contained. Some of the air resources being used on the Alamo Fire have been diverted to the Whittier Fire to try to stop its spread. Firefighters from Los Angeles, and Orange Counties are among those involved in battling the pair of fires.
