South Santa Barbara County’s Tea Fire is now totally contained, but the cause of the blaze, which destroyed 210 Santa Barbara residences and injured 25 people, remains under investigation.
On Nov. 17, a joint investigation team made up of staff members from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, Cal Fire, and the U.S. Forest Service announced that the Montecito fire was believed to be “human-caused.”
“The investigation team has eliminated all possible accidental, non-human causes,” said Captain Eli Iskow, public information officer for the county fire department. “The team is now trying to determine if [the human-caused fire] was accidental or intentional.”
People who might have any information about the cause of the fire are asked to call the sheriff’s tip line at 681-4171.
The fire started the evening of Nov. 13 in an area known as the Tea Garden Estate. Fueled by warm weather and high-speed winds, it blasted through approximately 1,940 acres, engulfing hundreds of homes and two seminaries, and damaging parts of Westmont College.
Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate their homes during the first few days of the fire. But as of Nov. 18, mandatory evacuation orders had been lifted for most of the affected areas.
Residents returning to their homes are advised to use caution when using Highway 154—or to use Highway 101 as an alternative route since fire equipment will be traveling.
The estimated cost-to-date of fighting the fire is $5.7 million. City and county building divisions are conducting more detailed damage assessments of structures in the affected areas, according to a press release from the county fire department. Utility providers are also diagnosing and repairing infrastructure in the Mountain Drive and Gibraltar Road areas.
On Nov. 18, U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), and 38 other House members issued a statement calling on the Bush Administration to support California’s request for a major disaster declaration, U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans, and funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Emergency Loan Program.
Capps’ office reported that the major disaster declaration would provide critical federal resources for Santa Barbara County, as well as help in combating fires burning in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties. The aid would go toward funding recovery and rebuilding dozens of Southern California communities.
Local nonprofit organizations are also doing their part to aid people affected by the fire.
As of Nov. 18, the Red Cross, Santa Barbara County chapter was still running its emergency shelter at San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara.
On the first night of the fire, approximately 210 people were registered to stay at the shelter. That number has since declined to about 15, but Marjorie Wass, a spokesperson for the Red Cross, said that “the shelter will stay open as long was it needs to be.” The Red Cross is now helping out during the recovery and clean-up period.
“We’re doing bulk distributions of clean-up supplies, like rakes and shovels,” Wass said. “We’re also handing out safety masks, snacks, and water.”
Wass said people in need of assistance, or those interested in volunteering, can contact the Red Cross online at sbredcross.org or at 687-1331.
For more information about the Tea Fire, visit countyofsb.org or call the Tea Fire Information Center at 681-5187.
This article appears in Nov 20-27, 2008.