Vegetation Fire Burns Along Highway 166 Near County Line, Closes Roadway

Firefighters from multiple agencies battled a vegetation fire along Highway 166 near the Santa Barbara-San Luis Obispo county line Tuesday night, with the blaze growing to at least 12 acres and forcing the closure of the highway.

The fire, dubbed the Twitchell Fire, was first reported around 10 p.m. Tuesday, July 7, near Twitchell Dam Road and Highway 166, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

Multiple spot fires reported

CAL Fire San Luis Obispo said crews initially responded to multiple small vegetation fires along Highway 166 near Alamo Creek Road, with each fire reported at under one acre. By 11 p.m., incident commanders reported that one of the fires north of Highway 166 had grown to approximately 10 acres.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department noted that multiple spot fires had been reported in the area, with the largest estimated at around 10 acres as of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Fire grows to 12 acres with potential for further spread

By 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, CAL Fire San Luis Obispo reported the fire had grown to approximately 12 acres with the potential to reach 50 acres. The agency said crews were making progress on hoselays and dozers were working to establish access to the fire.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department described the blaze as having a moderate rate of spread earlier in the evening.

Highway 166 closed and reopened

Highway 166 remained closed between US 101 and Tepusquet Road as of the latest update, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

At 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Caltrans announced all lanes of Highway 166 are open. “Please take caution driving through the area as crews remain on scene mopping up,” the agency stated.

Multi-agency response

Although the fire is burning in San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County Fire Department resources responded to assist and were on scene with additional units en route, officials said.

CAL Fire San Luis Obispo is the lead agency on the incident. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department said additional information would be provided by CAL Fire San Luis Obispo as the incident progresses.