Sea breeze brings respite in wildfire battle

A cool sea breeze provided some relief for US firefighters battling a blaze which has destroyed scores of homes in California, but they feared dry inland winds could return to stoke the fire today.

“Sundowners”, fierce local winds that sweep down the mountain slopes from north to south and out to sea, are being blamed for fanning a small wildfire into a savage inferno which has consumed 8,600 acres (3,480 hectares) and about 80 homes, threatening the celebrity enclave and other coastal towns.

Firefighters were hoping for more sea breezes that could help temper the blaze, which was only 10% contained last night.

“When the air is coming off of the ocean, the humidity is fairly high and it pushes the fire back away from the community,” said Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Tom Franklin.

“But the (sundowner) prediction is still there. The winds could surface, change back around and blow the fire back downhill.”

Mr Franklin said that today “there’s supposed to be a significant change in that weather pattern, so we’re all keeping our fingers crossed”.

The National Weather Service said the sharp north-to-south pressure gradient creating the winds was expected to weaken, but remain strong enough to produce gusts throughout today, and possibly until tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, the wildfire continued to rage along a five-mile (8km) front above normally serene coastal communities, forcing more than 30,000 evacuations.

Authorities urged another 23,000 people to remain ready to leave at a moment’s notice despite the possibility of improving weather conditions and the arrival of a huge firefighting jet.

“There will be a point in the incident when I will have cautious optimism but I’m not there yet,” said Joe Waterman, the overall fire commander from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Yesterday, columns of smoke boiled off the Santa Ynez Mountains after a fierce overnight battle with the blaze, repeating a pattern of relative calm in daylight and explosive behaviour when winds arrive in the evenings.

“Literally last night, all hell broke loose,” Santa Barbara city Fire Chief Andrew DiMizio said yesterday morning, recounting firefighters’ efforts to put out roof blazes and keep flames out of the city proper.

About 80 homes have been destroyed in neighbourhoods on ridges and in canyons which rise up the foothills above the north edge of Santa Barbara.

The city and adjacent communities, pinched between the coast on the south and the rugged mountains on the north, are subject to the sundowners.

The Santa Barbara area has long been a favourite of celebrities. Oprah Winfrey has an estate in Montecito, where Charlie Chaplin’s old seaside escape, the Montecito Inn, has stood since 1928. A ranch in the mountains that Ronald and Nancy Reagan bought became his Western retreat during his presidency.

The fire’s activity forced expansion of mandatory evacuation areas and evacuation warning areas as the blaze pushed west towards neighbouring Goleta and east into a small portion of Montecito.

Some 3,500 firefighters were on the scene along with 428 engines, 14 air tankers and 15 helicopters. A DC-10 jumbo jet tanker capable of dumping huge loads of retardant began making runs on the fire yesterday afternoon.

Officials said 11 firefighters had been injured to date, including three who were burned in a firestorm on Wednesday. They were reported to be in a good condition at a Los Angeles burns centre.

The cause of the blaze, which broke out Tuesday, remained under investigation.