Santa Barbara Tea Fire

Last night, at approximately 5:45 pm, a wind-driven fire broke out in the foothills of Montecito and Santa Barbara. (See these photos by Ray Ford, Gallery 1, Gallery 2).

As of now, the fire has burned over 100 homes, 14 of which belong to Westmont faculty. 2,000-2,500 acres have been destroyed, almost 5,500 homes have been evacuated, 500+ firefighters, about 10 smoke inhalation injuries, and 3 burn injuries.

A friend of mine who is a Westmont employee has assured me that there are no more active fires on Westmont and no injuries, but 8 structures have been lost--four buildings in the Clark Halls (F, G, M, S), the physics building, the old math building, and the two quonset huts. The last three buildings were scheduled for demolition soon for the "Master Plan" (construction "make-over" for Westmont).

I am currently sitting in my empty office with my gimpy dog, having a hard time figuring out how to voice the sentiment appropriate for this situation. My heart is breaking for people who have lost their homes. I cannot even begin to imagine that kind of trauma. My house is in the evacuation warning zone so last night we decided we'd rather sleep somewhere else than stay and worry about being in danger. While I packed up a few things necessary for one night, I also started gathering others....just in case. In the back of my mind I kept telling myself that my house wasn't in danger and all of my stress over these material posessions was silly. While the fire doesn't seem like it will threaten my close neighborhood, it's really interesting to see what you value in a time like this--I grabbed the valuables (computer, camera, and jewelry), some necessary paper work (bills, investment info, various account info), and then looked around my room waiting for my important belongings to jump out and beg me to take them along. I grabbed a few sentimental pieces of clothing, some books, and my art portfolios. I understand that my house wasn't/isn't in that much of a risk (pinkies crossed!), but it's strangely reassuring to feel like there wasn't much I could live without. Who knows, if we had a mandatory evacuation or my neighbors' houses were on flames, I may have tried to stuff my whole wardrobe into my little car. Regardless, my housemates and I are safe and so far, no one I know has been injured. Ultimately, that's what matters--not the stuff we have, but the people we have and I am so thankful that no one has been too badly hurt.


I have never been this close to a natural disaster and last night I got a good taste (that low-quality picture on the left was taken with my phone while standing on the porch).

I can hardly focus today knowing that friends of mine--professors of mine--have lost their homes, that my beloved alma mater, Westmont, has been so deeply affected--places still fresh in my mind, burned to the ground.



My prayers go out to all those involved.

The following are some links to information on the fire:

Wall Street Journal Article

KEYT Santa Barbara News - updates

LA Times Article - Mentions my boss, Bobby, who lives in Montecito