Los Angeles - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
declared a state of emergency Friday as more than 1,000 firefighters
battled a raging wildfire near the celebrity hideaway of Montecito.
Up to 200 houses had been destroyed by the wind-driven flames by
Friday night as fire teams worked to contain the damage amid winds
that picked up again after a day of calm.
The fire injured 13 people and forced residents from more than
5,400 homes to evacuate. Several university buildings were also
destroyed in the inferno, including a dormitory and several
laboratories. It was the worst fire of the current season in terms of
property damage.
The Tea House fire broke out Thursday evening and had burned
around 1,000 hectares by Friday morning. Firefighters poured into the
area from around the state to battle the flames, aided by hundreds of
fire engines, nine helicopters and 10 air tankers, said Terri Nisich,
Santa Barbara County's assistant executive officer.
'We're going to have a very, very tough day today for firefighting
and when the winds kick up this afternoon, we're going to have an
incredibly challenging situation,' said Santa Barbara County fire
chief Ron Prince at a press conference. 'Control of this fire is not
even in sight.'
Referring to the thick brush and foliage in the region, Prince
added that 'the fuse has been lit on this fire for 30 years. I am
surprised that we haven't had 500 homes burnt at this stage.'
Montecito is situated in the coastal mountains just outside Santa
Barbara, about 145 kilometers north-east of Los Angeles and is famous
as the home to stars such as Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe. Both their
houses were reported to be safe but Lowe said he was forced to flee
with his children as fire engulfed the mountain.
'Embers were falling. Wind was 70 miles an hour (112 kilometers
per hour) easily, and it was just like Armageddon,' Lowe told
KABC-TV. 'You couldn't hear yourself think.' Lowe said his house
hadn't burned.
According to the Los Angeles Times at least part of actor
Christopher Lloyd's property was damaged in the fire, with much of
the Back to the Future actor's property in ruins.
USA
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