Wildfire closes major California highway, prompts evacuations - NBC News

A major thoroughfare was closed and mandatory evacuations were ordered on California’s Central Coast on Monday as powerful winds swept across the state, fueling a rapidly growing fire near Santa Barbara.

Highway 101, which stretches from California through Washington State, was closed near Santa Barbara after the Alisal Fire erupted Monday afternoon in the Los Padres National Forest, local and federal authorities said.

Nearly 2.5 million acres have burned in California in 2021, making it one of the most explosive years on record, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection