Firefighters on Tuesday had only contained a small percentage of wildfires that were tearing through one county in California, threatening 100 buildings and inciting residents to flee.
The fire started near a campsite in the Los Padres National Forest on Monday afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reported. A day later, flames had spread across more than 1,200 acres in Santa Barbara County, and firefighters were still fighting to contain almost 90 percent of the blaze.
U.S. Forest Service officials said it would take until next week before the fire could be fully contained, the L.A. Times said. There’s an “extreme” chance the fire could grow, given the dry terrain and windy conditions, forest officials said, in the paper.
The biggest threat right now is to 100 buildings dotting the region, including horse farms and firefighter outposts, the L.A. Times reported.
“I’ve got my little dog, and he’s ready if I need to pack him to leave,” said Michael Devlin, 43, a county resident, in the L.A. Times.
The National Weather Service said wind gusts are expected to hit 50 miles per hour on Tuesday.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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