SR 154 Closed; 300 Firefighters on Remaining Smokes of Cave Fire

The random smokes left over from the Cave Fire were tweeted via the camera of Mike Eliason of Santa Barbara County Fire as press officer Capt. Dan Bertucelli assured Santa Barbarans that 300 firefighters remained on the fire. They had traversed steep ravines and hills to raise the fire’s containment line to 70 percent, and were on hand should any flare-up occur from the smoking remains of the fire, now estimated at 3,126 acres with updated mapping.

Since Tuesday, about two inches of rain at San Marcos Pass have quelled the raging flames that broke out on Monday. Dropping temperatures dotted the pass with snow early Thursday morning.

San Marcos Pass itself is closed to through travelers as Caltrans assesses damage to State Route 154’s guardrails and drainage from the fire. Granite Construction of Santa Barbara is contracted to fix the road in a $1.3 million emergency project.