alamo fire

A brush fire which burned nearly 29,000 acres of land in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties has been fully contained.

The Alamo Fire started July 6th northeast of Santa Maria, near Twitchell Reservoir. The fire closed Highway 166 between Santa Maria, and New Cuyama for days, destroying a home, and damaging a building in the process.

While the fire has been contained, some firefighters will remain in the area for the next few weeks patrolling for potential hot spots. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

An eight day closure of Highway 154 due to the Whittier brush fire in Santa Barbara County ended late Sunday afternoon, with the reopening of the highway.

The highway had been closed from Santa Barbara to Highway 154 initially by the blaze itself, and later because of falling rock and downed trees. Crews have been busy for the last week removing debris and repairing damaged utility lines.

The fire was still officially at just over 18,000 acres burned, and 36% contained as of early Sunday evening.  Later in the evening, containment was upgraded to 49%.

Firefighters are trying to get a handle on the Whittier Fire burning in the Santa Ynez Mountains of Santa Barbara County that has grown to more than 18,000 acres. It's still only 36% contained.  

California Fire officials say they expect increased fire activity Sunday due to warmer temperatures, lower humidity and winds.

However, firefighters did get a break with the weather overnight from Saturday into Sunday when potentially strong sundowner winds in the forecast didn’t materialize. 

Firefighters are closing in on full containment of the Alamo brush fire, which has been burning out of control northeast of Santa Maria since July 6th.

The 29,000 acre blaze is now 92% contained.  One structure has been destroyed, and a second damaged by the fire.  The fire started near Twitchell Reservoir, burning in both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.

Firefighters battling the Whittier brush fire, in the Santa Ynez Mountains are keeping a close eye on the weather today, with the potential for sundowner winds in the forecast for Friday night.

Thursday night, a flareup of the blaze below Santa Ynez, and Broadcast Peaks on the south side of the blaze created concern for some Goleta and Santa Barbara residents, who could see the line of flames. There was a flood of 911 calls during the flareup, which last for about four hours. Fire officials say despite the ominous look of the fire, it was miles away from the closest homes. No new evacuation orders were issued, and the flareup subsided just after one Friday morning.

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.

Maps show the latest on the Whittier Fire in Santa Barbara County, as well as the proximity of the Whittier Brush Fire to the Alamo Brush Fire.

Firefighters say they've reached 45% containment as of Tuesday morning on the Alamo brush fire in Santa Barbara County, up from 20% Monday night.

The fire has burned about 29,000 acres of bush northeast of Santa Maria, near Twitchell Reservoir.  The fire's size remained virtually the same overnight Monday into Tuesday.  One structure has been destroyed.  The fire has been burning since last Thursday, which much of the fire in rugged, hard to get to terrain. 

The two major brush fires burning in Santa Barbara County continued to grow from Sunday to Monday, but there are no additional evacuation areas.

The Whittier Fire, which is mainly burning in the Santa Ynez Valley south of Lake Cachuma, went from 7800 to around 10,800 acres, with 5 % containment. 

The Alamo Fire, in the mountains northeast of Santa Maria grew from around 24,000 to 29,000 acres, with 15% containment.

An estimated 3700 people have been evacuated in Santa Barbara County as a result of the two major brush fires burning in the region. 

The Whittier Fire, which started near Lake Cachuma Saturday afternoon, has burned about 7800 acres of land, and led to 3500 evacuations.

The fire prompted mandatory evacuations at Lake Cachuma, for the area from Armour Ranch Road to Paradise Road, for West Camino Cielo from the Winchester Gun Club east to Highway 154, and for the Farren Road area west of Winchester Canyon.

An evacuation warning was issued for Las Varas Canyon east to Winchester Canyon, and from Highway 101 north to West Camino Cielo.

Two wildfires are continuing to burn on the Central Coast as hundreds of people evacuate.

The Whittier Fire, which is burning in the Santa Ynez Valley, has grown to 7,800 acres. It’s only 5% contained. Firefighters are especially concerned because it’s near hundreds of homes. Santa Barbara County Fire officials say some structures have been destroyed, but it’s not clear if any of those were homes. Mandatory evacuations were issued for homes as well as campgrounds. The brush fire broke out Saturday afternoon off of Highway 154, about 12 miles east of Solvang.

Firefighters on the Central Coast have their hands full with two major brush fires burning in Santa Barbara County, both which have forced evacuations.

What's called the Whittier Fire broke out just before 2 p.m. Saturday off of Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley, about 12 miles east of Solvang.  The 500 plus acre fire has prompted mandatory evacuations at Lake Cachuma, and for the area from Armour Ranch Road to Paradise Road.  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.

Meanwhile, the Alamo Fire northeast of Santa Maria has grown to 19,000 acres burned. 

A brush fire burning in two counties on the Central Coast has nearly doubled in size overnight to 6,000 acres.

Cal Fire officials say more than 1,000 firefighters are battling the Alamo Fire, which is located around the Santa Barbara County-San Luis Obispo County line near Highway 166 and Twitchell Reservoir. Five helicopters are dropping water and four fixed-wing aircraft are dropping retardent in an effort to contain the fire.

A brush fire burning in two counties on the Central Coast has grown to more than 3,000 acres in size.

The Alamo Fire is burning around the Santa Barbara County-San Luis Obispo County line close to Twitchell Reservoir.