700-acre fire forces evacuations in Santa Barbara County
A fast-moving wildfire in Santa Barbara County forced more than 1,000 campers to cut their holiday revelry short and evacuate Los Padres National Forest, officials said.
About 125 residents were also asked to flee the White fire, which flared up in the mountains about 12 miles north of Santa Barbara on Monday afternoon. By early evening, the fire had grown to about 700 acres.
No one was injured in the evacuation, and U.S. Forest Service spokesman Andrew Madsen said no houses burned and residents were expected to be able to return home late Monday after the fire burned through.
The fire forced the closure of Paradise Road, which runs up a canyon dotted with campsites in the popular recreation area.
Firefighters from several counties were deployed, along with four water-tanker airplanes and two helicopters.
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