SHERPA FIRE: STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED
Santa Barbara County has declared a state of emergency as a fast-growing wildfire spreads over the Santa Ynez Mountains, threatening crops and rural homes, officials announced Friday.Fields of avocado, lemon and olives have been damaged by the Sherpa fire, which grew to 4,000 acres overnight and was only 5% contained, county officials said. Chewing through vegetation that hasn’t burned since the 1950s and pushed by 40 mph winds, the Sherpa fire crawled toward Highway 101 between El Capitan State Beach and Gaviota, forcing the California Highway Patrol to shut down the coastal route overnight. It reopened early Friday morning.CHP officials said the highway will likely close again Friday night and possibly Saturday night, when a heat wave is expected to settle over the area and trigger the worst “sundowner” winds firefighters have seen so far.