UPDATE (7:30 a.m.) - The Santa Barbara County Fire Department says the Cave Fire has grown to 4,100 acres and is 0 percent contained.
Around 2,400 structures are threatened but none have burned, fire officials say.
Six hundred firefighters are currently assigned to the fire.
---
Santa Barbara Co. Fire with overnight update on Cave Fire
Firefighters are waiting for the sun to come up to get a better idea on how much the Cave Fire burning in the hills above Goleta and Santa Barbara has grown.
The fire broke out at around 4:15 p.m. Monday off Highway 154 and E. Camino Cielo and had grown to 3,122 acres within just a few hours with no containment.
By 6 a.m. Tuesday, fire officials estimated at least 3,300 acres had been scorched and said 2,400 homes were threatened, but none had burned.
Several evacuation orders and warnings have been issued for the area and Highway 154 and other highways in the area are closed. All public roads north of Cathedral Oaks Rd. are also closed from Patterson Avenue to Fairview Avenue.
The Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network said it has evacuated from its facility on N. Fairview Avenue in Goleta and animals were safely taken to the humane society.
Drivers are advised to use Highway 101 and use caution in the area.
To see an updated map of the evacuation areas, click here .
Click here to view the latest emergency information in Spanish.
Santa Barbara County has activated its Emergency Call Center number at (833) 688-5551.
An evacuation center is set up at the Goleta Valley Community Center, located at 5679 Hollister Road. Officials said 26 people stayed there overnight.
Santa Barbara City College has closed all of its campuses Tuesday and Wednesday "out of an abundance of caution" due to the fire.
Helicopters were making drops on the wind-driven fire overnight, but firefighters were anticipating additional help from aircraft once the sun comes up.
Southern California Edison has shut off power to part of the area. Officials say the fire is threatening some of the utility's transmission lines.
Mike Eliason with Santa Barbara County Fire told KSBY News early Tuesday morning they expect to be on scene "for days to come."
While there has been no word of any homes being damaged, Eliason believed some outbuildings may have been lost.
Fire crews from Southern California are among the 500-plus firefighters on scene, one of them being from Los Angeles Fire Department's Station 9, which Eliason says is the busiest fire house in the nation.
Rain is forecasted for the area beginning Tuesday night, which will help with the firefight but also creates new concerns of possible debris flows.
KSBY's Christina Favuzzi, who is on scene along Highway 154, watched as embers were sent across the highway by winds early Tuesday morning, igniting the hillside there.
Firefighters say it has been about 30 years since this area burned, leaving a lot of fuel for the flames. The fire is burning in the same area as the Painted Cave Fire that destroyed hundreds of homes in 1990.
Santa Barbara County has proclaimed a local emergency as a result of the Cave Fire that broke out Monday afternoon along Highway 154.
County officials say the proclamation ensures that all county resources are available for firefighting and support efforts and helps facilitate potential state funding. The county is asking Governor Gavin Newsom to also declare a State of Emergency.
More information and updates on the fire are expected around 7 a.m.
Stay with KSBY and KSBY.com for the latest updates on this fire.
It’s very smoky here on Highway 154, where the Cave Fire is burning. These flames are on a part of the pass over a creek, which must be dry. It’s seen its share of flare ups throughout the morning. Crews have moved up the hill over the past hour. #CaveFire pic.twitter.com/rNFyj9WEN3
— Aja Goare (@ajagoare) November 26, 2019