Fire crews gained progress on a brush fire that caused a scare in the area of Vandenberg Village on Thursday.
The fire burned about 150 acres in the area of Santa Lucia Canyon Road and was 30% contained as of Thursday night. Officials said forward progress has been stopped.
KSBY talked to fire officials and residents about the scare this caused in the community.
“Luckily," said Karen Cruz-Orduña, Santa Barbara County Fire public information specialist. "We do have some resources and we’re able to combat the fire."
RELATED | UPDATE: Forward progress of fire at Vandenberg Space Force Base stopped
It's unclear exactly how many firefighting units were deployed to the area, but a KSBY crew at the scene saw multiple air assets as well as first responders from both Cal Fire and the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Evacuation warnings and orders were issued Thursday but have since been canceled.
Many residents, like Nicole Murray, received the order.
She was on her way home when she said she started getting the alerts.
“I saw that they were evacuating Maple High School, which is a couple [of] houses down from my house, so I knew that that was the time to head home,” said Nicole Murray, Vandenberg Village resident. “As I was driving home, I got the alerts stating it was going to be an evacuation for that area.”
Murray said that she was impacted by a 2017 fire that was — at the time — the largest wildfire in modern California history. This incident, naturally, caused concern.
“I previously lost my home in the Thomas Fire in Ventura County, and so when I got the evacuation news I first started that said it was getting close,” Murray said. “Then I got the evacuation warning on my phone with the warning alerts, and so that was pretty hectic, and I feel like it triggered my PTSD a bit.”
The Thomas Fire — caused by power lines touching during high winds — scorched nearly 300,000 acres and destroyed almost 1,100 structures. Two people were killed, including one firefighter.
It's the state's 11th most destructive wildfire.
She later received a phone call from authorities letting her know the evacuation was lifted saying: “This is the sheriff's office with an update for the Santa Lucia fire," the call said. "All the evacuation orders and warnings for the lower Vandenberg Village and Providence Landing areas have been lifted.”
Murray said she felt relieved being able to return to the comfort of her own home.
“This was a lot less stressful, to say the least,” said Murray. “I feel like I can take a breath of relief now that I am able to go home and feel safe.”
