Nearby schools, the Lompoc campus of Allan Hancock College, and residents of Providence Landing and lower Vandenberg Village are being evacuated after a wildland fire broke out a little after noon Thursday east of Vandenberg Space Force Base, west of Lompoc, and southwest of Highway 1. The blaze has been dubbed the Santa Lucia fire. Nearby Maple High students have been evacuated by bus, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Office public information officer Raquel Zick.
Parents are asked to go to Cabrillo High School to meet their students. Santa Barbara County Fire Department has issued an evacuation warning for the Lompoc Valley Center due to the fire. Hancock announced the college's Lompoc Valley Campus is closed for the remainder of the day; all day and evening classes are canceled.
All Lompoc students and Lompoc employees should leave the campus in a calm and orderly fashion. If you are not currently at the LVC campus, please do not travel to the LVC, the college said. The Food Share event scheduled for today at the Lompoc campus is also canceled.
Santa Lucia Canyon Road is now closed on the Highway 1 side as well as access to the base at both Santa Lucia and Lompoc gates. The cause of the fire is under investigation. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
See current evacuation orders and an interactive map of evacuation areas in Vandenberg Village associated with the Santa Lucia Fire on ReadySBC.org . Image and video o.