Wind cooperates with firefighters on Calif. blaze

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A fire official says 111 homes have been confirmed destroyed in a celebrity-studded enclave of Northern California, and the burned area has expanded to 1,800 acres.

Montecito fire spokeswoman Jackie Jenkins said Friday night another 1,500 homes in Montecitoare threatened, but wind conditions in the evening have been relatively mild.

Fierce winds were blamed for fanning the flames that quickly spread across Montecito on Thursday night and into Friday. Thirteen people have been injured in the blaze, which more than 1,000 firefighters are working to contain.

Comments

[clsmithj]

With all those wildfires that seem to be plaguing California for decades it seems, you would think they come up with a solution to pipe water in from the Pacific to irrigate the land act as on hand fire hydrants.

[FRANKTELLS]

I WANT TO FIX HILLARY CLINTON FOR STAYING WITH BILL WHEN SHE SHOULD HAVE DIVORCED HIM OVER:
1. HIS ANTIMASTURBATION
2. HIS CHEATING ADULTERY
ALSO IM AGAINST HER NOT LISTENING TO ME ABOUT VOTING AGAINST THE ANTI POKER BILL (PHONE CALLS, LETTERS) AND RECEIVING FUNDING FROM HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES WHEN THEY ARE ALREADY OVERCHARGING AND AGE DISCRIMINATING. I ALSO BELIEVE LIKE JOE LIEBERMAN THAT BILL CLINTON SHOULD HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED AFTER ILLEGALLY CHEATING ON HIS WIFE.

[USindependent]

Wind are Blowing fierce,,, New fire near the 210 and 5 freeways has consumed possibly hundreds of homes... And just in... Another big fire has just been reported at Green River Road, next to the 91 freeway...Freeway has been shut down....Sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph....are creating firestorms...

[dortmunder]

BTW, Santa Barbara is not in northern California. Check your map, Amy Taxin.

[MissDaphne]

Does anyone know whether the retreat center, La Casa de Maria, made it through? I hope so--that's one of my favorite places on the planet....

[RomanFingers]

Hasn't Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide Mortgage infamy (you know, the guy with Ken Doll hairplugs & overly bronzed facial features?) bought a handful of estates recently in and around Montecito? Could one imagine that they were over-insured for fire damage in order to possibly, speculatively, hypothetically effect a "Sundowner Windfall" of hidden ill-gotten capital assets being converted by "Act of God" into oh-so-liquid insurance-paid-claims cash? Do we know how these sudden fires were originally sparked yet? I'm just sayin"...

[jan4insight]

I just spoke to a client of mine in Santa Barbara. She is leaving to get away from the smoke. She told me that the fire was started by some college students partying in an abandoned house.

So if you want to think conspiracy, consider : was the house abandoned due to mortgage foreclosure?

[FairyBear2000]

I used to live in Santa Barbara. There are some wonderful homes and scenery in Montecito & Santa Barbara. It's always a tragedy when a home is lost even if it's built where it shouldn't be.
One of the residents in the Montecito area was our own Ariana Huffington. If you still have a home there, Ms. Huffington, I wish you well and safety.

[dortmunder]

I grew up in SB. Twenty years! Montecito is not a place where most of us locals were welcome. Ditto for Hope Ranch. In the late 80s, early 90s homes there were starting at $800,000 and up! I'd be more worried about the middle class that's been practically annihilated there and the poor immigrant families, many of whom will no doubt be out of work now that all the mansions are in danger of burning up.

[capitalismisntamoral]

Santa Barbara is a strange place. The university is world class in many
fields, but there isn't a whole lot else. It's part college town, part tourist
trap, and yet a beautiful paradise, for those who can afford it.

Regular old houses that were in the 300's in the mid 90s are now well over
$1M. A 3bd 1 bath shack is close to $1M in the SB area, and not even in the
more exclusive parts like Montecito.

For those who watched Veronica Mars, I wonder if it was based on Santa
Barbara because of the tension between the rich kids and the lower-class
mostly minorities kids. And if you never saw it, you should check out the
series on DVD. Smartest. TV show. Ever.

I totally missed the Gap Fire this past July. Sounds like the firefighters did
an amazing job with that one.

[charon]

Fires across California this year have destroyed many homes, including many in Concow. The people of Concow though are just middle class and thus undeserving of much attention by the media or public outside of the local area, unlike the more well-to-do and well-known of Montecito.

[LongBeachDave]

I have three very good couple friends who have all lost their homes during this fire...they escaped with their lives...lost everything else, including, sadly, the birds and it looks like the cats, who are MIA. I was four years old in Seattle when our home burned to the ground, and we lost everything as well. The loss of pets and personal possessions is heartbreaking and devastating, but personal possessions can be replaced. My heart goes out to these and all the others who have lost their homes in this terrible fire.

[capitalismisntamoral]

Thanks for sharing your story and your kind words here.

We need more heart and less blame and vitriol.
On HuffPo and everywhere else.

[jalyn]

Am trying to imagine what it must be like to experience these fires. It is devastating because it happens so swiftly without notice. In the north northeast, we here experience power outages due to blizzards, and it's not uncommon to experience several days without heat in 0 degree weather from downed power lines. It's uncomfortable and cold, but, at least our homes are intact after the storm.

Am hoping for the best outcome for you in the danger areas.

[Agentlady007]

Very Dangerous. Jeff Bridges lives right there in Montecito, and his family had to evacuate. Let's all pray his house is saved from this fire and that everyone in the area is okay.

[peacegurl48]

I live at the bottom of the hills that are burning and there are all sorts of people in Montecito, some of my co-workers lost homes and they are far, far from wealthy. Where I live is middle and working class and we are terrified that the fire will sweep down on us if the winds come up again tonight.
We met some amazing firefighters this morning and the locals took a moment to thank them for their courage and sacrifice.
Watching a regular home or a mansion burn is heartbreaking because we all have memories and things that can never be replaced with money.
Thanks for the many kind thoughts.

[Forester]

And people wonder why everyone thinks we Californians are nuts for living here.

Earthquakes, fires, floods, houses on stilts, a Governator. - I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Yosemite, Big Sur, Blue politics, Tahoe, mountain biking, surfing, skiing, sailing, beautiful women, great schools, smart and ambitious people, multi-culturalism,

and of course, banana slugs.

[NoblesseOblige]

Don't forget the climate! :D

[Zenfull]

I am a native Californian. I now live in New Mexico and would not return to California to live ever again. The story of California is well told by another California emigre, Joan Didion, in her book "Where I Was From." For me, it was too many people, too much development, too much too-much. I saw the writing on the wall and sold my Southern California home in 2005 in (everyone I knew thought my leaving strange..."How can you leave paradise?") and moved to a beautiful place of raw natural beauty and glorious blue skies, a state of less than 2 million people. Now as I watch the natural world around me, content and living within my means, I feel I definitely made the right decision. I know my neighbors and they know me. We watch out for one another and pretension and excessive consumption of our precious resources are shunned. California is a "state of mind" for so many dreamers who came, like my own midwestern parents, to "Shangri-la" -- the millions who have immigrated there in the past 30 years have no sense of California in it's natural state and have greedily consumed all that they can to satisfy their short term need for excessive acquisition and for the "beautiful life". The unplanned sprawl and excessive development, particularly in Southern California, resulted in excessively high living costs, long commutes, and now the destruction of the natural environment though wild fires.

[capitalismisntamoral]

There is much truth in what you write. I lived in California for many years
and would love to go back. New Mexico also has a magic to it that is
difficult to put into words.

People have always moved to other places where there is an opportunity
to have a better life.

I don't see why the "millions who have immigrated there in the past 30 years"
are so, uh responsible for destroying the 'real California' or whatever you
want to call it.

A 'native Californian' whose parents emigrated from the midwest, now
moves to another place, how ironic.

Good luck to you and your superior life in your new 'zenfull paradise'.

[RuffNReddy]

I went to high school in Santa Barbara and knew some kids who lived in Montecito.
There's some big ass houses up there! Or there were.

It's a really beautiful foothill area (and very exclusive).
Too bad, though. There's some nice scenic drives and lots of foliage and it's really quiet.

Is there a map of the area burned?
I'm curious to know what areas were damaged.

[peacegurl48]

Check out KEYT TV, they have a map of the area and who had to evacuate.

[RuffNReddy]

Thank you!
I had the pleasure of being welcomed into some Montecito homes in my teens and early twenties. There's some amazing mid-century modern homes there and it would be a shame to see that destroyed. It's not hard to appreciate good architecture, even if it is only for the upper-class.

And to the fella who said that there's middle class folks there... uh uh. Not really.
It's a pretty ritzy area with it's own country club and 'downtown', hyper pricey grocery store and chic eateries. There's a lot of old wealth, too. big classic estates from the 20's & 30's. Although, it is saddled by the East Side which is a lower income to middle working class bungalow and Victorian suburb of SB.

[RenoSage]

Google LA Times. There are maps. The fire was truly devastating.

[TheNoBullExpress]

'Christians' popping off. More proof that religion is dangerous