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Fire crews brace for heat wave fighting Gap fire
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More from Breaking NewsFire officials in Santa Barbara County are bracing for a tough time this afternoon as temperatures are expected to reach into the 100s, making the job of fighting the week-old Gap fire that much harder.
Firefighters have largely stopped the fire from spreading south of the Santa Ynez Mountains into the highly populated areas around Goleta, Juanita Freel, a spokeswoman for the Los Padres National Forest, said this morning from her Goleta office.
"The bigger danger right now is the northern portion of the fire," high up in the Santa Ynez Mountains, Freel said.
That area is a lot more sparsely populated. But it's also where the weather is expected to be the hottest today, said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Much of the heat is expected after 12 p.m. when a marine inversion level is expected to dissipate, Freel said.
The Gap fire had burned 9,710 acres as of 6 a.m. today. Authorities said it was also 50 percent contained. Fire officials do not yet know when the blaze will be fully contained.
About $9.3 million has been spent so far fighting the fire, which was reported July 1 at 5:45 p.m.
Investigators suspect the fire was human caused, although its exact origin remained under investigation this morning.
Six firefighters have received minor injuries from the blaze so far, Freel said.
A total of 1,310 personnel have been assigned to the fire. No homes have been destroyed although the fire has destroyed four structures so far, including some sheds. Numerous vehicles have also been destroyed by the fire.
They're working on the northeast portion. The north portion is where they're making the stand.
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