Update as of 9:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18 – The Real Fire is at 420 acres and 20 percent contained according to SBC Fire officials. There are 105 firefighters on scene reinforcing and mopping up. Critical fire weather is expected this evening.
Update as of 7:45 p.m. – the #1 lane northbound is open and both southbound lanes are open along Highway 101.
Update as of 6:30 p.m. – The Real Fire is at 50 acres and 0% containment. Crews are working on structure defense and will be on scene all night, according to SBC Fire.
Staff Report
Santa Barbara County Fire officials report a vegetation fire started around 4:46 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17. The fire is wind driven and there is no information how many acres have burned so far or the potential to spread. Also no word of any structures threatened, but fire officials have called a second alarm and air tankers are en route to the scene.
There are evacuations going into effect for El Capitan Canyon and the beach campground as well as Dos Pueblos Canyon, according to the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management.
The winds are roughly 40 – 50 miles per hour blowing towards the ocean, according to weather reports. Highway 101 is closed near the fire. The northbound lanes are closed at Las Varas and the southbound lanes are closed at Refugio. The California Highway Patrol is asking people to steer clear from the area.
We have a photographer headed to the scene check back for updates to this story.
