Santa Barbara Fire Evacuees Returning Home

This morning’s unexpected heavy fog provided a much needed weather reprieve for the crews fighting the Santa Barbara wildfire. The fog blanketing the Santa Barbara hills brought humidity to the higher slopes which experts hope will impede the fire that has been raging across the hillside, homes and town. Cooler ocean breezes are blowing the fire back into the hills and away from the Santa Barbara causing officials to lift the mandatory evacuation for some areas as well.

The Santa Barbara fire which originally started on Tuesday and quickly spread due to high winds and hot temperatures appears to be slowing down thanks in large part to the weather and the valiant effort by the firefighters. The fire spread out from Santa Barbara to neighboring towns of Goleta and Montecito driving more than 30,000 residents from their homes and covering over five miles last night. It is estimated that 80 homes have been damaged or destroyed. The exact figures are not available due to limited visibility because of the heavy smoke and ash.

One tragic loss from the fire was the Santa Barbara Gane House, a century-old Craftsman home which the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden panned to restore for an administrative center. The only thing remaining from this historic Santa Barbara building is three tall brick chimneys. Nancy Johnson, the Santa Barbara Historic Garden’s Vice President of Marketing said “Obviously we’re heartbroken. It’s a large, large loss for us.”

Some areas of Santa Barbara, including north of highway 192, remain under mandatory evacuation orders while the areas south of highway 192 can return home but remain under an evacuation warning. The Santa Barbara fire is estimated to be 30 percent contained. Fire officials expect that they will have it fully contained by Wednesday provided the winds and temperatures co-operate. However, officials warned Santa Barbara residents that the fire can change quickly and to remain aware and alert to changing conditions until the fire is fully contained.

The Santa Barbara American Red Cross emergency shelter at Santa Barbara’s Dos Pueblos High School was put on standby status should anything change with the fire. The University of California Santa Barbara Activity Center is still open for anyone needing shelter or assistance. In addition, this afternoon they began giving out dust masks, water and clean-up kits to the residents that were impacted by the fire. Residents can also pick these items up tomorrow from 10 am to 5 pm behind the organization’s headquarters at 2707 State Street.

Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said that the fire is the “worst emergency Santa Barbara has faced in 25 years.

Author Andee Nast can be contacted at andeen@charter.net.