Twice on Thursday the Sherpa Fire also caused the closure of the 101 Freeway in both directions along the Gaviota coast between Buellton and Goleta.
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Authorities in three Western states are battling large brush fires that have threatened several communities, forcing people to evacuate their homes.
Santa Barbara County Fire Department Public Information Officer David Zaniboni said the main concern was keeping everyone safe from the encroaching flames. Firefighters worked through the night to battle the flames whipped up by sundowner winds, which reached upwards of 35 miles per hour.
A wildfire burning in tinder dry forest and grassland in central New Mexico southeast of Albuquerque has destroyed 24 homes and 21 minor structures.
In Arizona, a blaze called the Cedar Fire has burned about 9,600 acres in the eastern section of the state but growth appears to have slowed because of good work by firefighters and lighter-than-expected winds, fire officials said Friday at a news conference.
Air-quality warnings were in effect for the southern areas of Santa Barbara County through the weekend, unless conditions change, officials said.
In central New Mexico, a blaze that began Tuesday has charred more than 26 square miles and destroyed homes near the small community of Chilili.
Firefighters were hopeful infamous “Sundowner” winds wouldn’t kick up and spread the blaze, but were unlucky as the winds ferociously spread the fires through the night.
The Sherpa fire grew from 2 to 6 square miles overnight Friday June 17, 2016 in Santa Barbara County.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for El Capitan Canyon, El Capitan Ranch, El Capitan State Beach, Refugio State Beach, Refugio Canyon, Venadito Canyon and Las Flores Canyon.
In this image made from video, a wildfire burns in a remote coastal area west of Santa Barbara, Calif., on Thursday. Officials expect that scorching hot temperatures could make containing the fire over the weekend hard.
The campgrounds remained closed but fire officials said nobody remained at the shelters Thursday.
“We do not want our residents to have a false sense of security”, he said.
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In Nevada, a 300-acre Reno brush fire that threatened dozens of homes was 75 percent contained and crews were mostly in mop-up mode Thursday evening.
