While the Whittier Fire continues to rage out of control in the mountains above Goleta, crews at the Alamo Fire are winning the battle of the blaze burning east of Santa Maria.
As of Saturday morning, the Alamo Fire containment had reached 93 percent, with acreage remaining at 28,687, Cal Fire officials said.
While containment has climbed, crews will continue to perform mop-up operations in the fire area.
“Only isolated areas with burnt or decayed trees continued to smolder,” a Cal Fire statement said. “These trees present a danger as they have the potential to fall.
“The damage assessment is complete and fire suppression repair is underway. Crews continued to patrol the fire line, mopped up areas and removed hose lines.”
The expected hot and dry weekend prompted Cal Fire officials to ask people to exercise extreme caution.
Anyone without homes or businesses in the area were urged to stay away from Tepusquet Canyon, which remains under an evacuation warning.
Tepusquet Road, a narrow, curvy route, is open to residents only, officials said.
The fire sparked July 6 off Highway 166 near Twitchell Reservoir, forcing the closure of the roadway between the Central Coast and the Cuyama Valley for several days.
Cal Fire officials said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The firefighting force stood at 1,405 personnel, with 107 engines, 15 water tenders, two helicopters and 34 hand crews and 15 bulldozers as of Friday night. As crews close in on full containment, resources will be reassigned to other blazes.
The greater containment for the Alamo Fire came as Friday’s Whittier Fire activity led to more evacuations and a huge plume of smoke visible from around the North County.
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— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
