A flareup put up a big cloud of smoke which caught many people’s attention Tuesday, but when the day was done, firefighters continued to move toward containment of the Whittier brush fire in the Santa Ynez Mountains.
The fire went from 25% to 48% containment, with the acreage growing by a few hundred acres, from 10,800 to nearly 11,300. A combination of milder weather conditions, and added resources like additional helicopters helped.
Meanwhile, firefighters also made big progress with the Alamo brush fire, northeast of Santa Maria. Containment went from 45% to 60%, with the amount of acreage burned staying steady at around 29,000 acres.
Firefighters say they obviously want to contain both fires as soon as possible, but with hot weather in the forecast again for this coming weekend, they have an extra incentive to try and nail down the blazes as soon as possible.
