The Whittier Fire is growing outside Santa Barbara, California. CalFire Firefighters estimate the blaze grew more than four-thousand acres overnight. In as little as twelve hours, firefighters' containment of the wildfire dropped from more than 50% to 35%.
The fire started a week ago along Highway 154 in the canyons northwest of Santa Barbara, prompting immediate evacuations. The blaze has destroyed eight homes and burned more than 17-thousand acres. More than 16-hundred firefighters are battling the wildfire, but they fear more hot wind weather today could cause it to spread.