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Firefighters Concerned Sundowner Winds Could Spread Whittier Fire; Extra Crews Positioned In Case

(Photo by Mike Eliason, Santa Barbara County Fire Department)
A firefighter works on the Whittier Fire

Firefighters are being positioned on the south side of Santa Barbara County’s Whittier brush fire, to deal with potential sundowner winds in the forecast for Friday night.

The concern is that if the 25 to 40 mile an hour winds materialize, they could push the blaze down from the Santa Ynez Mountains to the hills northwest of Goleta.

A new evacuation order was issued today for all of Winchester Canyon Road, except for the Wagon Wheel community, Langlo Ranch Road and Winchester Commons west to El Capitan Ranch Road. The order impacts Calle Real north to West Camino Cielo, from Winchester Canyon Road on the East, to El Captain Road on the west. And, Paradise Canyon Road has been closed from Highway 154 east to the first river crossing.

The fire is 52% contained, and has burned just over 13,000 acres of land. Highway 154 remains closed from Santa Barbara to Highway 246.

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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