A brush fire in the Santa Ynez Valley which trapped some kids at a summer camp, and forced some evacuations has grown to more than 5,400 acres.
What's called the Whittier Fire broke out just before 2 p.m. Saturday off of Highway 154 about 12 miles east of Solvang. The fire prompted mandatory evacuations at Lake Cachuma, and for the area from Armour Ranch Road to Paradise Road.
About 80 kids and staff members were trapped at the Circle V ranch when flames on both sides of Highway 154 made it unsafe to evacuate them. Los Padres National Forest firefighters were on hand to protect them as they sheltered in place at the camp. They were safely evacuated before sunset.
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.
Firefighters say as the fire pushed east, they focused on trying to insure the blaze doesn't burn out of the Santa Ynez Valley and over the mountains into the Goleta and Santa Barbara areas.
Meanwhile, the Alamo Fire northeast of Santa Maria has grown to 19,000 acres burned.
The fire, which began Thursday afternoon, 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 closed Highway 166 from Santa Maria to New Cuyama since Thursday afternoon.
The Alamo Fire is 10% contained.
