Plane passenger captures smoke billowing from Alisal fire in California

Smoke plumes from the Alisal fire burning near Santa Barbara, California, were captured from above by a plane passenger on Monday evening (11 October).

The footage, filmed by Laura McLendon, shows wildfire smoke billowing across the hills towards the sea, with flames burning below.

Official reports said the blaze was sparked at 2:30pm local time on Monday and quickly exploded to 2,000 acres in size.

Evacuation orders and warnings are in effect for the local area, with flames forcing part of California’s iconic Highway 101 to close.

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