Firefighters braved a return of unpredictable “sundowner” winds on Thursday night as they battled to keep a wildfire that destroyed dozens of multimillion-dollar homes from burning through the coastal city of Santa Barbara.
A late-night update from Santa Barbara County officials put the estimated number of homes destroyed or damaged in the foothills and canyons overlooking the city at 75, with 3,500 more dwellings and about 100 businesses still threatened.
As of Thursday night, more than 4,700 homes — or roughly 12,000 residents — were under mandatory evacuation orders from the so-called Jesusita fire, which began on Tuesday afternoon.
PHOTO: AFP
Eleven firefighters have been injured, including three who suffered burns and smoke inhalation when their engine was overrun by flames, forcing them to take cover in the house they were trying to save on Wednesday.
Calmer winds late on Thursday afternoon gave firefighters the chance to make some headway against the flames as they edged toward the more populated downtown area of Santa Barbara and they managed to establish containment-lines around 10 percent of the blaze by nightfall.
Hot, dry winds that notoriously kick up around sunset began gusting through the area about 8pm, later than expected and with less ferocity than the night before, fire officials said.
PHOTO: AFP
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has spent recent days promoting wildfire safety throughout the state, visited the site of the first major fire of the year on Thursday and said dozens of homes had been destroyed.
One homeowner said he stayed at his house despite evacuation warnings and nearly perished.
“I didn’t want to lose my home. It’s that simple,” homeowner Albert Lindemann told KTLA-TV news, adding that his house ultimately was saved by firefighters who arrived just in time.
“I thought we were going to die,” he said. “Until I started seeing those firemen coming in there, I didn’t think any human being could be out there.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that search and rescue teams saved a group of middle-school students who had been camping and found themselves cut off by the fire.
Authorities said rugged terrain, thick brush and gale-force winds made it difficult to control the blaze. Winds died down overnight, allowing an aerial assault by water-dropping helicopters to continue round-the-clock.
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