Gardens of the wealthy prove a wildfire deathtrap
UNITED STATES: Firefighters battling the fifth-largest blaze in California’s history are encountering a new and potentially deadly obstacle: rich people’s gardens.
In wealthy Montecito, Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, highly flammable vegetation is often grown for decoration or privacy. Eucalyptus trees, whose bark and sap burn fast, are especially prominent in the hills of Montecito, along with similarly flammable cypress, juniper, California pepper and pine trees, which many residents use in place of wooden fencing.
‘‘That is putting flammable fuel that is ready and willing and wants to burn in between those structures,’’ Amber Anderson, of the Santa Barbara city fire department, said. ‘‘It makes it very dangerous for firefighters ... to do structure protection.’’
Cypress, eucalyptus, juniper and pine are all banned by the city of Santa Barbara from areas with a high fire risk. Montecito does not have the same restrictions, and a 2016 city plan notes that ‘‘the combination of hot and dry Mediterranean climate, highly ignitable vegetation, numerous fire ignitions and human development create significant potential for a major disaster’’.
The 10-day-old Thomas fire has burnt 96,000 hectares and destroyed more than 900 buildings, and remains only 25 per cent under control. Anderson added that it posed a ‘‘huge risk right now’’ to the three communities, where famous residents include Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, George Lucas, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Rob Lowe and Jimmy Connors.
Almost 8000 firefighters and 1000 fire engines battling the blaze were braced for a possible return of strong gusts.
The Thomas fire is by far the largest of six wildfires that broke out in southern California last week. Another, Skirball, brought terror into metropolitan Los Angeles last week. Drivers on one of the busiest stretches of freeway in America barrelled through a roadside inferno near the Getty Centre museum, and the fire spread into exclusive Bel-Air, where it burnt six homes.
On Wednesday the Los Angeles fire department said the Skirball fire had been caused by an illegal cooking fire at a homeless encampment. Investigators found the site deserted but saw signs that people had been cooking and sleeping there, the department said. The Skirball fire is now 85 per cent contained.