MONTECITO — A fast-moving brush fire driven by 50- to 70-mph winds erupted Thursday night in the hills above Montecito in Santa Barbara County, burning at least 800 acres, destroying up to 80 homes and forcing evacuations of luxury neighborhoods, authorities said.
The fire broke out about 6 p.m. in the wealthy Cold Springs area of Montecito, where a number of celebrities live, and quickly overwhelmed firefighters with its speed.
"I have so many concerns," said Terry McElwee, operation chief for the Montecito Fire Department. "It's just moving so fast right now. . . . We're having trouble rounding up enough resources."
Three helicopters with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection were dropping water where they could gain access as firefighters struggled to get engines and equipment to threatened structures. Nevertheless, the fire continued to press southwest, toward Santa Barbara.
"It looked like lava coming down a volcano," Leslie Hollis Lopez told the Associated Press as she gathered her belongings from her house.
More than 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, dubbed the Tea fire. Departments included Santa Barbara County, the city of Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpinteria, and the California Department of Forestry. Mandatory evacuations were in effect for an area above California 192, between Cold Springs Road and Hot Springs Road.
Geri Ventura, a spokeswoman for the Montecito Fire Department, said an evacuation center was set up at San Marcos Senior High School in Santa Barbara, and students at nearby Westmont College were told to gather in the campus gym.
As the fire swept through the college area, at least two buildings were destroyed, but no injuries were reported, authorities said.
Although two evacuation centers were opened, many Montecito fire-area residents chose to wait out the fire at hotels -- some of which were full -- or at friends' homes.
Bobby Shand stopped at the Holiday Inn in Carpinteria, about five miles away, looking in vain for a room for himself and his family. He had just received word that two of his friends' homes had been destroyed, but he didn't yet know the fate of his own. The family had not waited for evacuation orders but packed up cherished belongings in three cars and headed out.
