Add California Wildfires as an interest to stay up to date on the latest California Wildfires news, video, and analysis from ABC News. A portion of Santa Barbara was under mandatory evacuation. In downtown Santa Barbara, Maya Schoop-Rutten, owner of Chocolate Maya, said she saw through the window of her chocolate shop smoke suddenly appear after strong winds blew through. The northbound lanes of U.S. Highway 101, coming up the coast from Los Angeles, were closed for a few hours south of Santa Barbara, with cars stopped on the freeway. The Santa Barbara Zoo has about 150 species of animals, including a pair of Amur leopards, a critically endangered species.

Source: ABC News December 16, 2017 18:31 UTC