California firefighters try to box in wildfire
Fire closing highways
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — More than 1,300 firefighters helped by aircraft are trying to box in a wildfire in a Southern California coastal mountain range that has closed major highway for days.
The Alisal Fire is 5% contained Thursday after charring more than 26 square miles in the Santa Ynez Mountains west of Santa Barbara after it erupted Monday amid high winds.
Since then, the winds have shifted but have been less intense than the first hours of the fire when flames blasted down the face of the mountain range toward the Pacific Ocean, jumped U.S. 101 and reached a beach.
