Central and South Coast firefighters urge caution ahead of hot weekend
BUELLTON, Calif. - As the triple digit heat continues on the central and south coasts, firefighters are on alert. Friday afternoon, a brush fire broke out north of Buellton.
The Divide Fire quickly spread along Northbound 101 near Highway 154, but firefighters have since contained it contained it.
The fire broke out at about 1:00 pm. In total it burned between 10 to 15 acres, but had the potential to burn around 300.
The fire department said it does not yet know the cause, but that the fire started in the center divider and the wind made it jump the highway to the northbound side.
Firefighters said even though this fire did not cause evacuations, everyone needs to be prepared during fire season.
"When you have hot days like today... wake up in the morning and think about it," Scot Alderete, battalion chief for Santa Barbara County Fire. "Okay, if something happens today, I kind of need to be able to grab my things and get out of there really quickly."
Alderete said to study up on evacuation routes and have a plan for or even a bag of things you would need.
There is elevated fire danger this weekend.
A ridge of high pressure is bringing us a heat wave through Monday. There is an excessive heat warning in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
With strong winds and temperatures in the 90s on the coast, fire can spread very quickly.
Firefighters are encouraging people to avoid doing yard work with machinery, or stopping your car next to vegetation. Anything that can cause a spark can quickly get out of control.
