Fred Harteis News Articles - A fast-moving fire in Goleta, just north of Santa Barbara, has forced nearly 2,000 residents from their homes, as a shift in winds and the availability of timber fuel combined on Friday to trump fires to the north as the state’s first priority.

 

Labeled the Gap fire, it was only 10 percent contained on Friday. It has burned through 5,400 acres and threatened 2,674 structures, officials said.

 

Across the state, 60 active fires, fueled by decades of old brush and brutally ...   more »