Santa Barbara Homes Under Fire
This year’s fire season has begun early for Santa Barbara County, located about 100 miles outside of Los Angeles. As of Tuesday night, many homes have been destroyed by this newest blaze. Although the exact number is still unknown, approximately 8,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and this number is expected to grow. :(
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has officially declared Santa Barbara County in a state of emergency, as of Wednesday evening. Presently, over 800 firefighters have been deployed to fight this new wildfire and that number is expected to grow to 1,300 before it completely under control.
Winds died down and the fire slowed to about 196 acres most of Wednesday. Then with the combination of increased wind speeds in the afternoon, up to 50 mph to be exact, low humidity levels and high temperatures the fire quickly grew to over 500 acres. With expected winds to carry through Thursday night, this fire threatens to destroy much more in its path. Unfortunately, most of the homes in the line of fire are estimated to be in the million dollar range. Many wait with baited breath to see if they even have a home to return to.
In a city that has experienced a number of wildfires, Jenson said this one was as close to the city center as any he had seen. Less then six months ago a fire destroyed more then 200 homes in Santa Barbara and neighboring Montecito, and in 1990, the infamous Painted Cave Fire killed one and destroyed 641 homes, apartments and other structures in the county. –Chad Jenson, Resident of Santa Barbara, ABC News.
This beautiful tourist spot has faced much tragedy the last six months, due to wildfires, and we hope that this fire is not one for the record books. We here at LadyLUX have faith in the brave firefighters who battle this raging fire and trust they will do their very best to preserve the once breath taking landscape. For more on the fires, visit ABC.com.
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