McMurray fire near Buellton reaches 40 percent containment, remains at 200 acres
A fire that broke out near Buellton on Monday afternoon burned 200 acres and reached 40 percent containment by Tuesday evening, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The blaze, dubbed the McMurray fire, was originally reported as multiple brush fires. The fire caused authorities to close a portion of northbound Highway 101 from Highway 246 to Highway 154 and order mandatory evacuations. More than 8,600 PG&E customers in the area were also without power on Monday evening.
By 8 p.m. Monday, forward progress had been stopped and evacuation orders for the ranch areas northeast of Buellton had been lifted.
The CHP also reopened the left, No. 1 lane of northbound Highway 101 from Highway 246 to Highway 154 on Monday night. The agency said it planned to open the right, No. 2 lane of the highway on Tuesday afternoon.
This story was originally published September 9, 2019 at 5:01 PM.
