Emergency crews responded Tuesday afternoon to a report of a growing 250-acre vegetation fire in the Cuyama Valley, prompting evacuations and road closures.
The incident, known as the Foothill Fire, was 0% contained as of 9 p.m. One structure has been destroyed, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders for the areas north of Castro Canyon, east of Perkins Road and west of the Cuyama River and ordered residents to “leave now” due to the fire.
Authorities updated evacuation orders around 9 p.m. to include areas south of Perkins Road to Maudie Peak.
They also issued evacuation warnings for the areas south of Foothill Road at the county line, east of the Cuyama River, and west of Quatal Canyon.
Click here for the evacuation map and get updates here.
Multiple resources first converged on Highway 166 near Kirschenmann Road at around 4:02 p.m. for a report of a vegetation fire that had the potential to grow to 200 to 300 acres, per emergency radio traffic.
The fire was burning west toward Castro Canyon Road at a moderate rate of speed around 4:45 p.m., per emergency radio traffic.
Air tankers assisting crews on the ground were operating from the Santa Maria Airport with additional aircraft en route.
Resources in the area included the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Land Management and California Highway Patrol.
By 6 p.m., authorities implemented hard closures at Highway 166 and Bell, 166 and Kirschenmann and Highway 33 and Foothill, said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick.
Sheriff’s deputies, Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue, County Fire and Los Padres Fire personnel were all coordinating at the scene, she added.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
The Cuyama Valley sits in the northeast corner of Santa Barbara County along Highway 166 which links the Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley.
The Kern County Fire Department was also on its way at 6:45 p.m.
Additional information was not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back with Noozhawk for updates.
