Firefighters say they now have 20% containment of a brush fire which at one point closed Highway 101 in Santa Barbara County Thursday, and forced the evacuation of some campgrounds. The 440 acre plus fire is off of Highway 101, in the area of El Capitan State Beach. It’s an area about 10 miles west of Goleta.
The fire was discovered at about 4:30 p.m. The wind pushed the fire south, towards the ocean. Firefighters aided by aircraft were able to stop the spread of the blaze, and as of 10 p.m. an estimated 443 acres had burned.
Highway 101 was closed for more than two hours, but reopened at around 7:30 p.m. Passenger and freight train service through the area was also temporarily suspended. There are no reports of injuries, or structure damage.
