California wildfire doubles in size

Firefighters struggle to halt a California wildfire as the blaze doubles in size and destroys 80 homes.

Firefighters struggled to halt a wildfire raging in California today, as the blaze doubled in size and authorities warned 23,000 more people could be forced to flee. At least 80 homes have been destroyed and 30,500 people evacuated from the coastal town of Santa Barbara in the wind-driven blaze that has forced firefighters onto the defensive since Tuesday. Authorities widened the scope of possible evacuation areas to include an additional 23,000 people, despite a lull in winds and increased humidity that gave a boost to the firefighting effort late last night.

The rapidly spreading wildfire left vast clouds of smoke across the region following a dramatic escalation overnight that had sent the flames roaring toward the centre of the city. "I never thought I'd use these cliché type words, but last night all hell broke loose," the Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Andy Dimizio said. Powerful winds known as "sundowners", sizzling temperatures and tinder dry brush have combined to create a perfect storm of fire conditions for beleaguered fire crews.

"This fire is really being driven by the weather," the Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Tom Franklin said. "So as unpredictable as the weather can be, that's about as unpredictable as the fire is going to be." Efforts to halt the flames had been hampered by unusually dry brush, the result of low rainfall during the winter months. "We usually expect the brush to have a little more moisture in it; this doesn't. There's a lot of dead brush up there," Mr Franklin said.

An army of about 3,455 firefighters were tackling the flames, while three helicopters and a retardant-dropping DC-10 were bombarding the fire in a sustained aerial assault. By 7pm, the fire was 10 per cent contained and had burnt through some 3,500 hectares, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE). But fire commanders said more containment lines had been created.

So far, 11 firefighters have been injured. Three were hospitalised with burns and smoke inhalation after a home they were protecting was suddenly engulfed by flames. The California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency to help release resources to fight the blaze. Meanwhile, evacuees from the fire gathered at emergency shelters set up by the Red Cross at a local high school and at a gymnasium on the University of California's Santa Barbara campus.

"I'm a Californian and I've known about fires and earthquakes my whole life," one evacuee, Bettina Johnson, said. "You accept it as part of the price of living here. "But when you see those flames up in the hills coming towards your home, it's still terrifying. I looked outside my home on Thursday, and the sky was blue and then all of a sudden it was just a brown cloud of ash." California is frequently hit by scorching wildfires because of its dry climate, Santa Ana winds and recent housing booms that have seen home construction spread rapidly into rural and densely forested areas.

In 2007, California suffered devastation from wildfires among the worst in its history that left eight people dead, gutted 2,000 homes, displaced 640,000 people and caused $1 billion (Dh3.6bn) in damage. Last November, at least 100 homes were destroyed by a wildfire in the celebrity enclave of Montecito near Santa Barbara.

*AFP