The socalled sherpa fire now howling through Santa Barbaras coastal canyons. 400 people were evacuated. Ranch hand griffin sterch, is on standby. We didnt think it was going to come this early. It came out of nowhere. It ended up getting thicker and thicker and off of a sudden we started hearing sirens so we knew it was a big deal. Reporter this area has not had a fire in nearly 70 years. Santa barbara fire chief Eric Peterson says the states fiveyear drought has left the area especially vulnerable. The fuels out there are drought stressed. Theres a lot of tree mortality out there that, you know, makes fire behavior worse. So its its drought is making an already pretty volatile situation not any better. Reporter over 1200 firefighters are battling the socalled sherpa fire in high heat and difficult, chestdeep canyon terrain. Tankers have been dropping retardant on these bonedry hillsides ahead of the fire so theme homes. Temperatures topping 100 degrees andegreesdegreesand low humilitd