California fires put homes of the rich and famous at risk
A powerful flare-up on the western edge of Southern California’s largest and most destructive wildfire sent residents fleeing yesterday, as windfanned flames churned through oldgrowth brush in canyons and along hillsides toward coastal towns.
Crews with help from a fleet waterdropping planes and helicopters saved homes as unpredictable gusts sent the blaze deeper into residential foothill areas northwest of Los Angeles that haven’t burned in decades. New evacuations were ordered as the fire sent up an enormous plume near Montecito and Carpinteria, seaside areas in Santa Barbara County that had been under fire threat for days and were now choked with smoke.
“The winds are kind of squirrelly right now,” said county fire spokesman Mike Eliason. “Some places the smoke is going straight up in the air, and others it’s blowing sideways. Depends on what canyon we’re in.”
The air thick with acrid smoke, even residents of areas not under evacuation orders took the opportunity to leave, fearing another shutdown of US 101, a key coastal highway that was closed intermittently last week. Officials handed out masks to residents who stayed behind in Montecito, the wealthy hillside enclave that’s home to celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bridges and Rob Lowe.
“Our house is under threat of being burned,” Ellen DeGeneres tweeted. “We just had to evacuate our pets. I’m praying for everyone in our community and thankful to all the incredible firefighters.”
Firefighters made significant progress Sunday on other fronts of the enormous fire that started on December 5 in neighbouring Ventura County. As containment increased on other major blazes in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties, resources from those fires were diverted to the Santa Barbara foothills.
Forecasters said Santa Ana winds that whipped fires across the region last week would continue in some areas at least through today.
A lack of rain has officials on edge statewide because of parched conditions and no end in sight to the typical fire season. — AP