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Tea Fire Burns 100 Homes In Exclusive Montecito

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A wildfire has burned more than 2,500 acres and destroyed at least 100 homes in the Santa Barbara County community of Montecito.

The Tea Fire began early Thursday evening and was pushed by high winds. Two firefighters and two civilians have been injured. At this time 120 fire engines and 500 firefighters are on the scene with more resources en route.
Winds in the area are expected to top at 60 mph today and tomorrow.

Local video can be accessed here.

Local fire information Santa Barbara County OES

Local Blog; Doc Searl

Ed Veilmetti’s detailed fire report.

Additional information; Student and faculty housing units at Westmont College were destroyed. No students were injured. Students sheltered in place overnight in the college gym.

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Posted by on November 14, 2008 • Filed under: 2008 Fire Season, Sundowners, Tea Fire
  • Edward Vielmetti

    < HREF="http://library.sbcc.edu/2008/11/fire_resources.html" REL="nofollow">Santa Barbara Community College’s Luria Library<> has put together resources for members of that community affected by the fire.

  • Mike

    Anon, I’m sure the community will open up arms and welcome students into spare bedrooms.Santa Barbara is a place you could expect this. Best to you!

  • Anonymous

    The Westmont Gym is a concrete building without windows, so was a safe place to be. There are a lot of out-of-area students at Westmont, and they has asked the following for any locals with beds to spare:Those wishing to extend temporary housing to those displaced by the fire should send their name, phone contact information, e-mail address, house address, and the number of individuals they can accommodate to: westmonthousinghelp@gmail.com.

  • Mike

    Thank you Anon, I wondered how the fire jumped the 101, LOL

  • Anonymous

    Just wanted to let you know that the photo above is of UCSB not Westmont.

  • Edward Vielmetti

    I’ve put together an < HREF="http://vielmetti.typepad.com/vacuum/2008/11/santa-barbara-and-montecito-t-fire.html" REL="nofollow">extensive set of links about the Santa Barbara Tea Fire<>, which includes links to radio, television, blog, and real time reporting. There’s a map too with a combination of reader reports and official evacuation information.