State of emergency declared in Santa Barbara County as Holiday Fire spreads in Goleta

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.

The Holiday Fire is 80 percent contained after burning more than 100 acres and destroying multiple homes. About 600 Santa Barbara County residents are still evacuated from their homes.

UPDATE, 2 p.m.

The Holiday Fire in Goleta remained at 5 percent containment on Saturday afternoon, as the fire grew to 100 acres burned.

Santa Barbara County is in a state of emergency, as firefighters work to contain the wind-driven brush fire that started in the 1500 block of Holiday Hill Road in Goleta and has destroyed 20 structures and forced thousands of people to evacuate since Friday night.

As of 2 p.m. on Saturday, 2,500 people have evacuated from their homes in the area from La Patera to Patterson and north of Cathedral Oaks in Goleta, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Also evacuated were 160 animals.

An estimated 500 firefighters, from Santa Barbara County and throughout the region, including San Luis Obispo County, are on scene to fight the fire, along with more than 30 engines and support aircraft.

No injuries have been reported thus far, according to Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni.

Power lines were reported down in the area, and Southern California Edison was asked to shut down power to avoid risks to firefighters.

A Red Cross evacuation shelter was set up at the Goleta Valley Community Center, 5679 Hollister Ave. Anyone in need of assistance with animal evacuations can call 805-681-4332.

The forecast for Saturday evening are southwest winds with humidity between 30 and 60 percent.

Noozhawk.com contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 7, 2018 at 9:24 AM with the headline "State of emergency declared in Santa Barbara County as Holiday Fire spreads in Goleta."