SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 28 (UPI) -- Firefighters said Tuesday they were making progress against a wildfire that has burned more than 2,025 acres and forced evacuations near Santa Barbara, Calif.
However, progress against the White fire early Tuesday was largely a result of diminished winds, and winds were starting to pick up by late afternoon. The forecast called for gusts of 45 mph during the evening, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The fire was 65 percent contained as of Tuesday evening, NBC News said.
U.S. Forest Service spokesman Andrew Madsen said firefighters were "just keeping our fingers crossed that the winds remain kind of steady until we can get some more fire lines cut out there."
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The White fire was about 10 percent contained by mid-morning Tuesday, one day after it broke out near a campsite in the Los Padres National Forest, the Times reported. The Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management said the fire was "well within" the forest and was burning in an easterly direction along the Santa Ynez River, the newspaper said.
Fog and humidity Tuesday morning may have helped the firefighting effort, but lower humidity was expected later Tuesday, along with higher winds. The National Weather Service forecast humidity would rise again overnight, possibility to 80 percent, and temperatures would fall into the 50s.
Almost 900 local and U.S. Forest Service firefighters and about a dozen aircraft are battling the blaze, which has forced the evacuation of an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people.
The fire has "extreme" potential to grow, as the area is difficult to access and has ample fuel in the form of chaparral, brush and trees, the U.S. Forest Service said.
Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. David Sadecki said the cause of the fire is under investigation, the Santa Maria Times reported.
Madsen said the fire swept through a Forest Service facility, damaging a building and two vehicles, the Los Angeles Times reported.
