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(CNN) - A forest fire spread to populated areas around the city of Santa Barbara in California early Tuesday, causing county officials to order evacuations and request outside help to contain the fire, as they say, their firefighters did not They can drive alone.
The so-called cave fire began in the mountains of Santa Ynez, a few kilometers northwest of Santa Barbara, late Monday afternoon and had consumed about 1,659 hectares at the beginning of Tuesday, fire officials from the county of Saint Barbara.
The fire, fueled by winds, has threatened structures in the area, including multi-million dollar houses and ranches. No homes have been burned so far, Santa Barbara County fire spokesman Mike Eliason told CNN.
Officials said the fire was moving towards populated areas in the cities of Santa Barbara, home to approximately 92,000 people, and Goleta, with approximately 31,000 people. It was contained at 0% early Tuesday, authorities said.
Evacuation warnings and orders were issued Monday night for areas north of Santa Barbara on both sides of California State Route 154.
A Twitter user posted terrifying images while driving through that hell.
"Please, keep safe any person living near the 154, as well as the firemen who are there at this time," said the user. "I just got out of there safe and my eyes still can't believe what's happening."
Please stay safe for anyone living close to the 154 and to the firefighters up there right now !! Just made it down safely and my eyes still can't believe what's happening #CaveFire #SantaBarbara pic.twitter.com/o5F0eGq1kC
- kat (@adeline_gunn) November 26, 2019
Fire threatens power transmission lines
Santa Barbara County declared an emergency Monday night, saying in a press release that the fire was beyond firefighters' ability to control it.
Help has come from outside the county. Orange County in Southern California, for example, sent five firefighting engines to help fight the flames.
# CaveFire– Scenes from the fire lines off CA Hwy-154 approximately 3 miles north of Santa Barbara. pic.twitter.com/Rb1JSaq6M9
- SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) November 26, 2019
The fire also threatens the main power transmission lines of the Southern California Edison company that provide electricity to the southern part of Santa Barbara County, authorities said. The flames have caused some power outages, the county said.
Around 90 customers had no electricity service early Tuesday, according to the poweroutage.us power outage tracking website.
While California public services in the past few months have intentionally cut power to reduce the chances of forest fires during adverse weather conditions, Santa Barbara cuts were not planned before the fire occurred, county officials said.
Governor Gavin Newsom's office also said he was monitoring the fire on Monday.
- Sarah Moon, Joe Sutton and Paul Vercammen of CNN contributed to this report.
California Firefighters Forestry Fire