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Brush Fire On Central Coast 40% Contained Thursday Morning; Full Containment Expected Thursday Night

(Photo by Mike Eliason, Santa Barbara County Fire Department)
An air tanker makes a drop on the Cruces brush fire in Santa Barbara County Wednesday

Firefighters say they are closing in on full containment of a brush fire which closed a section of Highway 1 on the Central Coast for a big chunk of the day Wednesday.

The Cruces fire begin just before noon Wednesday off of Highway 101, about three miles northwest of the Highway 1-Highway 101 interchange.  It forced the shutdown of Highway 1 for about six hours, and led to some ranches in the area being evacuated.

More than 200 firefighters aided by helicopters and air tankers were able to stop the spread of the blaze before sunset Wednesday.  Full containment is expected at around six Thursday night.

No structures were reported damaged.  The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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