Montecito Fires! Yikes!

[3113]

Santa Barbara is a county about an hour north of Los Angeles. Montecito is the upscale part of Santa Barbara county. A brush fire in the hills above caused evacuations. Now that fire is moving into Santa Barbara proper.

100 homes burned, 4,500 residents evacuated, and 1,500 homes threatened. As of this morning, none of the fire had yet been containted. A state of emergency has been declared.

Not only are conditions unseasonably hot and dry, but thanks to the ongoing drought water reserves are low. The whole of Santa Barbara's in real danger--not to mention the rest of Southern CA which has to be on alert this hot, dry weekend.

Any Lit folk near these fires? Check in with us folks. Let us know you're okay.

 

[cloudy]

Lots of my friends are looking at losing their homes (I grew up there, went to
San Marcos High School).

 

[rgraham666]

Crap. Stay safe, every one.

 

[3113]

This is turning into one crazy month--I keep getting news from within (friends, family) and here's the latest from without:

The fire spent most of the day rampaging through the tiny town of Montecito, but by afternoon had burned its way to the border of Santa Barbara, forcing evacuations in the eastern edge of the upscale coastal city. Stiff winds that had shoved the fire into a furious pace when it began Thursday had abated by Friday, but officials said it was imperative that they gain the upper hand fast in case the breezes kick up again. The biggest concerns as the night settled in were the tony Mission Canyon and Riviera areas of Santa Barbara, said city Fire Capt. Mike dePonce.

"They are in danger until we have containment of the fire," he said.

Residents described near-apocalyptic scenarios Thursday and Friday as flames as high as 150 feet chewed their way through forestlands, canyons and expensive homes. "I opened up my door, looked up and there was an absolutely massive wall of fire," said Paul Strange, a 43-year-old Montecito resident. "I've been through fires before but this was absolutely massive. It was amazing."

By the time he, his wife and their three children had packed up their belongings to flee, smoke had filled his house and it seemed like the sky was "raining burning embers," Strange said. They drove to safer ground, and the last word he had was that his house had not burned.

...Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County, and fire departments from all over the state were sending additional personnel and equipment and by Friday evening there were 1,141 fire personnel on the scene. This week's conflagration - dubbed the Tea Fire - broke out Thursday at 5:45 p.m. in the Tea House, a historic and defunct tea restaurant in the hills of Montecito. Driven by the area's famed twilight-hour "sundowner winds" with gusts up to 90 mph, the fire swiftly tore through thick stands of eucalyptus and oak trees and into nearby, leafy Westmont College and surrounding mansions. Most of the 1,200 students at Westmont College, a liberal arts Christian school set among idyllic woods and hills, were still on campus when the blaze broke out. Within 15 minutes, they were running for their lives as flames ate through three dormitories, 14 faculty homes and several other buildings.

...At least 1,800 acres - down from earlier estimates of 2,500 - in Montecito and the edge of Santa Barbara have been torched, and firefighters had not declared containment of any side of the fire by nightfall. The cause blaze's was under investigation. Witnesses told officials they saw several people gathered at the Tea House around the time the fire began, and some said at least one person appeared to be lighting a fire.

 

[3113]

Ah. Hell. Sylmar is on fire now. Sylmar is part of the San Fernando Valley in L.A. county.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Ah. Hell. Sylmar is on fire now. Sylmar is part of the San Fernando Valley in L.A. county.

Yeah, we saw the smoke at sunset and hear the sirens begin to wail. It's like the LA autumn national anthem!