Southern California Fire Updates...

Santa Barbara Tea Fire:

Tea Fire Time Lapse Videos:




Fact Sheet 11/15/08 @ 7:00AMStart Date/Time: 11/13/08 @ 5:45 p.m.

Incident Command Organization: Unified

Acreage and Containment: This fire has burned 1,800 acres and is 40 percent contained.

Evacuations and Road Closures: Evacuations and road closures remain in effect for the west portion of Montecito and portions of Santa Barbara. Incident Command Team 10 and Law Enforcement are working on a plan toallow residents affected by the fire back into their respective property.

Fire Progression: Fire progression is projected to move to the west towards Mission Canyon Road in the Santa Barbara area; and an eastward spread towards Hot Springs Road in the Montecito area that has been affected by the fire. The south end of the fire is holding but crews will remain in the area. The north end of the fire, which extends into the Los Padres National Forrest, has open line and will be a focus for the next operational period.

Structures Destroyed and Property Damaged: The fire has destroyed 111 homes, and damaged 9 residential structures. 1500 residents remain threatened.

Personnel and Apparatus: 2,235 firefighters and overhead personnel are assigned to this incident under unified command.

There are 9 helicopters assigned to the fire, no fixed wing aircraft, hundreds of engines and multiple strike teams assigned to the Tea Incident.

Three civilians have been injured and were transported to regional burn centers. There are no confirmed reports of injuries to any firefighting personnel.

Estimated Cost to Date: $3,500,000

WATER EMERGENCY

Due to the firefighting activities in the area, water reservoirs have dropped to critically low levels. We strongly encourage ALL residents in the Montecito and Santa Barbara communities to limit their use of water during this emergency to allow the most efficient use of water for firefighting tactics.

Note: As I write this update, several major wildfires are hitting Southern California, in areas including Sylmar, Palos Verdes, Corona, Yorba Linda and other new fires, some from fire embers blowing downwind and all threatening homes and mobile home parks. Several homes have been destroyed (in the 100's). One of the fires that caused a fatality is being investigated as a crime scene because evidence is pointing toward an intentional set... The below photo is a rare view... The current fires have shut down major interstate highways. The only other time I saw this was during earthquakes when all traffic was diverted because of bridge failures.