SANTA BARBARA - A stubborn brush fire that consumed 75 foothill homes above the California coastal town of Santa Barbara raged with renewed ferocity for a fourth day yesterday, forcing at least 30,000 people to flee as it advanced on the city and two nearby communities.
The conflagration, marking the fourth wildfire to strike the affluent Santa Barbara area in two years, charred some 3,500 acres (1,400 hectares) by daybreak. It followed a night of hot, dry erratic winds that drove flames across a highway and through more homes.
As yesterday morning, more than 30,000 area residents were ordered to leave their homes and about 23,000 others were warned to be ready to flee at a moment's notice, county officials said. That amounts to over half of the population of Santa Barbara, located 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
"Literally, last night, all hell broke loose," city fire chief Andrew DiMizio told reporters. "We saw the fire spread laterally across the top of the city and the fire front extend to almost five miles now." The evacuation area was expanded overnight as the eastern and western flanks advanced on the nearby communities of Montecito and Goleta.
No civilian casualties have been reported so far, but the blaze has injured 11 firefighters.
Joe Waterman, the state fire commander on the scene, said he expected the force of 2,300 firefighters would get some help later yesterday from the state's specially equipped water-dropping DC-10 jet. Firefighters' aerial arsenal already includes several smaller planes and 15 helicopters.
The area's last major brush fire, in November, destroyed more than 200 homes in Santa Barbara and nearby communities. - (Reuters)