Flames engulf California homes
2008-11-14 11:40
Santa Barbara - A brush fire destroyed an unknown number of homes in the enclave of Montecito, forcing residents to evacuate what has long been a hideaway for the rich and famous.
Montecito fire spokesperson Geri Ventura said she did not know exactly how many homes had burned, but television footage showed flames engulfing dozens of large multimillion-dollar houses. Ventura said about a quarter of the community of 10 000 people was evacuated and more could be moved if the fire spreads.
The fire broke out shortly before 18:00 and quickly spread through more than 120 hectares in the foothills eight kilometres south of Santa Barbara. Several fire departments were battling the flames as thick plumes of smoke hovered overhead.
"It looked like lava coming down a volcano," Leslie Hollis Lopez told The Associated Press as she gathered belongings from her house.
It was not known whether any celebrities' homes had burned or whether anyone was injured.
One resident described the area as deserted.
"You can just hear the explosions ... of vehicles, homes," Michaelo Rosso told KCAL-TV as he prepared to leave his home. "It sounds like the Fourth of July out here."
Santa Barbara County officials said about 125 engines and three water-dropping helicopters were en route or at the scene. Firefighters faced wind gusts as high as 113km/h on Thursday night. Gusts were expected to remain strong through early Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
The fire temporarily knocked out power to more than 20 000 homes in Santa Barbara, said Southern California Edison spokesperson Paul Klein. He said only scattered pockets of homes were without power by late Thursday.
An emergency shelter was set up at a high school and students at Westmont College were told to gather in the school's gym. The fire damaged several buildings at the college, according to the school's website.
Montecito and its ocean views have long attracted celebrities such as Michael Douglas, Rob Lowe and Oprah Winfrey, who owns a 17-hectare estate. The landmark Montecito Inn was built in the 1920s by film stars Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle, and the nearby San Ysidro Ranch was the honeymoon site of John F Kennedy in 1953.
Publicists for Lowe and Winfrey told the AP the celebrities' homes had not been destroyed and that neither was staying in the area on Thursday night.
- AP