More Central Coast residents told to evacuate as Alisal Fire burns nearly 17,000 acres
The Alisal Fire grew to nearly 17,000 acres overnight, prompting new evacuation orders for Santa Barbara County residents.
People living in the area west of Arroyo Hondo to the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 1, including Vista Del Mar School and Gaviota Beach, were told to evacuate at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
The agency has also issued evacuation orders for residents of Arroyo Hondo Canyon, Refugio Canyon, and the area between El Capitan Beach State Park and West Camino Cielo.
The Alisal Fire had burned 16,800 acres with 5% containment as of Thursday morning, according to Santa Barbara County Fire Department officials.
Part of Highway 101 remained closed Thursday morning due to the wildfire.
The closure stretches from 0.3 miles north of Goleta at Winchester Canyon Road to the junction with Highway 1 in Las Cruces, according to Caltrans.
Travelers were advised to take Highway 154 instead, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Reopening Highway 101 is a priority for incident commanders, Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason said via Twitter.
There were 1,306 firefighters on the site of the Alisal Fire as of 8 a.m. Thursday, agency spokesman Daniel Bertucelli said via Twitter.
“Aircraft will be up making drops all day in support of ground resources putting in line and defending structures,” he wrote, noting that there may be potential for increased fire weather in the next few days.
A type 1 federal incident command team took over firefighting efforts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Woody Enos, Santa Barbara County Fire Department incident commander, said at a news conference.
The county incident team, led by, Enos has 12 leadership personnel, while the federal team that took over Wednesday evening has 58 leadership personnel, Los Padres National Forest Fire Chief Jimmy Harris said at Wednesday’s press conference.
“It is going to be a challenge as the winds shift from the offshore winds that we know about, the sundowners, to this diurnal, onshore flow that we know about that we can feel here at camp this afternoon,” said Harris, noting that shifting winds can signal the most dangerous time for a fire. “I think we’re well poised to address those challenges with the team that’s come in and the small army of firefighters that we’ve amassed here on scene.”
For updated information about evacuations and more, go to readysbc.org/alisal-fire.
This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 9:35 AM with the headline "More Central Coast residents told to evacuate as Alisal Fire burns nearly 17,000 acres."
