Massive California wildfire spreading

Firefighters are battling to gain control of a destructive wildfire burning near Santa Barbara, California that has mushroomed in size overnight, pushed by gusty offshore winds into dry brush that has not burned in decades.

The Whittier Fire continues to burn as seen from
 Los Olivos, California, during the weekend.

The Whittier Fire, which broke out on July 8 and has already destroyed eight homes, had been more than 50 per cent contained on Friday before so-called ‘‘Sundowner’’ winds picked up in the evening, according to a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection website.

Nearly 3000 people who were forced to flee their homes near Cachuma Lake and the community of Goleta remained under evacuation orders as fire officials said another evening of Sundowners could drive the flames toward populated areas.

‘‘The fire continues burning in an area above the community of Goleta and crews continue to build containment and contingency lines to hold the fire in check,’’ Cal Fire said on the Inciweb fire-tracking website. ‘‘The east and west flanks of the fire continue to burn towards established containment lines,” it reported.

More than 1600 firefighters were working the blaze, assisted by water-bombing planes and helicopters.

Highway 154 was shut down in both directions and the Los Padres National Park was closed to the public.

Evacuation shelters were opened at a high school in Goleta.

The conflagration, which had blackened 7000 ha along California’s scenic central coast as of Saturday afternoon, was being fed by brush and vegetation that had not burned since 1955, according to fire officials.

The Whittier Fire is among more than 50 large, active wildfires burning across the US West as forecasters warned that hot, dry conditions could persist, creating tinderbox conditions.

Red flag warnings were issued for Northern California and parts of other states, where the National Weather Service said temperatures could reach above 32°C and winds to gust 80 km/h.

Read the story in today’s Shepparton News - “Massive California wildfire spreading.”