California wildfire grows to 1,100 acres, forces 101 freeway closure

The fast-moving “Sherpa Fire” burning in the Refugio Canyon area of Santa Barbara County grew to more than 1,000 acres Thursday morning and prompted the closure of a stretch of the 101 Freeway, KTLA reported. The wildfire started about 3:21 p.m. Wednesday off of Refugio Road and quickly burned through the steep, rugged terrain, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s Inciweb page.

Late Wednesday evening, Santa Barbara County Fire Captain Dave Zaniboni was quoted as saying the fire had “blown up.” The fire, which had burned about 250 acres Wednesday, grew to 1,100 acres by Thursday morning, local television station KEYT reported. FULL REPORT