Route 154 remains closed due to fire

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

State Route 154 remains closed to traffic indefinitely due to the Zaca Fire, CHP officials said, and only mountain residents with valid identification are being allowed to use the winding road.
Those who use the highway to commute between Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley will have to take Highway 101 instead, officials said. CHP officers also closed Old San Marcos Road at Via Parva to prevent non-residents from reaching San Marcos Pass.

People with reservations at Lake Cachuma, Camp Allegre, Camp Whittier and Circle V Camp are being allowed to pass through the checkpoint at State Route 246 only, CHP officials said.
“Motorists will not be allowed to access these locations from the Santa Barbara side of State Route 154 at the State Route 192 checkpoint,” CHP Spokesman Don Clotworthy said. “Motorists who are found in the closure area between State Route 192 and Lake Cachuma and are not residents are subject to being stopped and cited by law enforcement personnel.”
Clotworthy said those with confirmed reservations at those locations will be allowed to enter or leave through the northern checkpoint, but warned that if fire conditions warrant another full closure, anyone outside the checkpoint will not be allowed to enter.
CHP officials closed down State Route 154 on Friday afternoon after the Zaca Fire spread furiously and prompted evacuations of Paradise Road and Lower Santa Ynez River Road communities.