The wildfire started in California’s Santa Barbara county on Wednesday.
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The wildfire broke out at about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday at the top of Refugio Road in the Los Padres National Forest, burned toward Highway 101, prompting the closure.
GOLETA, Calif. (AP) – Hundreds of firefighters and a fleet of aircraft battled a 1,400-acre fire tearing through coastal canyons in California on Thursday as blazes in Arizona and New Mexico threatened communities with thousands of residents.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for El Capitan Canyon, El Capitan Ranch, El Capitan State Beach and Campground, Refugio State Beach, Refugio Canyon, Las Flores Canyon and the ExxonMobil refinery, Venadito Canyon, Ocean Mesa at El Capitan and the Refugio Campground.
The fire is burning in steep and heavy terrain.
Firefighters battling a 1,200-acre wildfire in California are hoping winds won’t kick up at nightfall and send the blaze roaring through canyons.
Dubbed the Dog Head Fire, the fire prompted Gov. Susana Martinez to declare an emergency so state funds can be used for firefighting and other assistance efforts. A blaze in central New Mexico exploded to almost 19 square miles and forced residents of some small communities to flee after sending up a towering plume of smoke that blanketed the state’s largest city in a thick haze. Crews near Cedar City are battling a almost 400-acre wildfire that’s threatening 20 homes and structures as well as a 60-acre blaze a couple of miles south.
Some structures burned near the small community of Chilili, but it was not clear whether they were homes.
In eastern Arizona, a small community was evacuated and residents of five others were told to prepare to leave after a wind-whipped wildfire charred almost 4 square miles within hours Wednesday.
Without any way to transport its crude oil, some 425,000 barrels of crude oil were left stranded in two storage tanks at the Las Canyon Flores facility.
“A lot of that area is very risky to put crews into, so it’s going to be slow going”, Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni told KNBC.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation by authorities.
Meanwhile, authorities reported no containment of the almost 2-square-mile blaze, now being called the Sherpa fire, drawing closer to an Exxon Mobil crude oil processing facility in a canyon of heavy brush.
An evacuation warning was also issued for the area between El Capitan Canyon and Farren Road and people in the area were being urged to gather family members, pets and important documents and prepare to evacuate if necessary.
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About 50 horses were evacuated from a ranch and taken to a shelter that has been set up at the county fairgrounds. State Route 101 also was closed in both directions near the city of Goleta.
