Hot winds fanning fires in California

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Firefighters from across the state braced for a new blast of hot evening winds as they fought to contain a fire that has destroyed up to 200 homes, many in a wealthy, celebrity-studded enclave, and charred at least 1,500 acres in the coastal foothills above Santa Barbara.

More than 5,500 people remain displaced by voluntary and mandatory evacuations, with many waiting anxiously to learn whether their homes survived.

Much of the damage to homes and a small Christian college occurred overnight Thursday, but several more homes burned Friday in Montecito, a quaint area that has attracted celebrities such as Rob Lowe, Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas and Oprah Winfrey. More than 1,000 firefighters worked to contain the blaze.

"It's not a time to relax," Santa Barbara County Deputy Fire Chief Tom Franklin said late Friday. "Everybody's got to be diligent through tonight."

Franklin said up to 200 homes may have burned in the area and asked for patience as crews tried to catalog the devastation in hilly areas accessible only by winding roads.

"We want to make sure the area is completely safe before we let people back in there," Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Ron Prince said.

At least 13 people were injured. A 98-year-old man with multiple medical problems died after being evacuated to a hotel, but it was unclear if his death was related to the blaze, Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown said.

Blistering winds gusting to 70 mph, dry brush and oil-rich eucalyptus trees helped turn an ordinary brush fire into an exploding inferno that quickly consumed rows of luxury homes and part of Westmont College, where students spent the night in a gym.

The fire began about 6 p.m. Thursday before it chewed through multimillion-dollar homes whose shattered windows glowed like jack-o-lanterns as they blazed through the night.

The speed and ferocity of the blaze surprised even veteran firefighters, who struggled to get crews and trucks trained on the attack.

"Mother Nature basically took over," said the chief of the Montecito Fire Protection District, Kevin Wallace.

A state of emergency was declared in Santa Barbara County and about 5,500 people were evacuated in Montecito, a town of 14,000 where celebrities rub shoulders with friendly locals who have lived there for years.

At least part of actor Christopher Lloyd's property was damaged, the Los Angeles Times reported. It said a reporter witnessed much of the "Back to the Future" actor's 8-acre grounds in ruins. The actor was filming on location in Vancouver, B.C., but a caretaker had fled the property. Lloyd's agent had no comment Friday, and messages left with his manager were not returned.

Lowe, the actor, said he fled with his children as fire engulfed the mountain and flames shot 200 feet in the air. The family stopped to check on neighbors and found them trapped behind their automatic car gate, which was stuck because the power was out.

Lowe said he helped get the gates open.

"Embers were falling. Wind was 70 miles an 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.

Ten people were treated for smoke inhalation and three others had burns, said Michele Mickiewicz, a spokeswoman with the county emergency-operations center.

At Westmont College, a Christian liberal-arts school, 1,000 students were evacuated. About 300 spent the night on cots in the gym. Some stood in groups praying; others sobbed openly and comforted each other.

Among those worried about their homes was talk-show host Winfrey. During a taping of her show Friday, she said the fire was about two miles from her house. Homes of her friends and neighbors were destroyed.

"It's not a good morning for us," she said.

Actor Stuart Whitman, 80, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 1961 for his role in "The Mark," was fixing a gate Friday that he had hurriedly removed while evacuating the night before. He said he planned to water down the grass around his house and hope for the best.

Whitman and his party of five, including house guests from Michigan, had fled to a bar as the flames drew near.

"It was loaded with evacuees," he said. "I saw my architect there. I said, 'Well, if the fire catches me you've got work.' He said: 'What about me? My house is up there, maybe it went.' "

Evacuee Tom Bain, 54, relived the hellish scene after fleeing his home in five minutes with his three cats, some work files and a computer. On the way out, he saw at least six mansions on the ridge above his home explode in flames.

"I saw $15 million in houses burn, without a doubt," the electrician said. "They were just blowing up. It was really intensely hot."

Montecito, a quiet community known for its balmy climate and charming Spanish colonial homes, has long attracted celebrities.

The landmark Montecito Inn was built in the 1920s by Charlie Chaplin, and the nearby San Ysidro Ranch was the honeymoon site of John and Jackie Kennedy in 1953.

Information from The New York Times is included in this report.