Firefighters gain ground on blaze

November 15, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters were holding their own Friday against a wildfire that destroyed more than 100 homes in a wealthy, celebrity-studded enclave, but authorities warned that evening wind gusts could send the blaze on another destructive sprint.

Much of the damage to homes and a small Christian college occurred Thursday night, but several more homes burned Friday in Montecito, a quaint and secluded 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 ahead of winds that were expected to pick up after sundown.

“It’s not a time to relax,” said Santa Barbara County Deputy Fire Chief Tom Franklin. “Everybody’s got to be diligent through tonight. It’s the last evening of these wind events.”

Franklin said more than 150 homes may have burned in the area and asked for patience from residents as crews try to catalog the devastation in remote 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. “I have to beg, basically, for your patience.”

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 directly 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 gymnasium shelter.

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.

“That whole mountain over there went up at once. Boom,” said Bob McNall, 70, who with his son and grandson saved their home by hosing it down. “The whole sky was full of embers, there was nothing that they could do. It was just too much.”

A state of emergency was declared in Santa Barbara County, and about 5,400 homes were evacuated in Montecito, a town of 14,000 where Los Angeles-weary celebrities rub shoulders with friendly locals who have lived there for years.

At least part of actor Christopher Lloyd’s property was damaged in the fire, the Los Angeles Times reported on its real estate blog. It said a Times reporter witnessed much of the “Back to the Future” actor’s eight-acre grounds in ruins, and that he was filming on location in Vancouver but a caretaker had fled the property. Lloyd’s agent had no comment Friday when contacted by The Associated Press, and messages left with his manager were not returned.