The Tea Fire, also known as the Montecito Tea Fire, was a wildfire that began on November 13, 2008, destroying 210 homes in the cities of
Montecito and
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
, in the United States of America.
It was the first of several
November 2008 wildfires that burned hundreds of homes from November 13–15, 2008. The Tea Fire ignited in the Cold Springs section of Montecito at approximately 17:50 PST on November 13, 2008. The fire started at a
Mar Y Cel historic structure called the "Tea House" above Mountain Drive, giving the fire its name. Spreading rapidly, it was fanned by offshore winds, known as
Sundowner winds, that blow down the
Santa Ynez Mountains
The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges.
The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age created ...
, gusting up to 85 mph (137 km/h). These winds caused the fire to spread into the city of
Santa Barbara.
The fire was 40% contained on the 15th,
75% on the 16th,
and by November 17, 2008, it was 95% contained after burning 1,940 acres (785 ha),
[ and on November 18, it was 100% contained.
On November 15, 2008, Governor ]Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
visited areas burned in the Tea Fire, noting: "When you walk around the area that was destroyed, it looks like hell."
Cause
The cause of the fire was under investigation for the first four days when authorities determined on November 17 that it was "human-caused". The following day, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
investigators announced that the fire was caused by a group of ten men and women, age 18 to 22, college students, who went to the abandoned Tea House on the night of Wednesday, November 12, and held a bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Etymology
The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...
party at the location, through the early morning hours of Thursday, November 13.[ ] The students told investigators they had put the fire out, but authorities believe the fire smoldered until the heavy winds ignited the fire on Thursday afternoon.
On November 20, 2008, Dr. Andreea M. Serban, President of Santa Barbara City College
Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college in Santa Barbara, California. It opened in 1909 and is located on a campus.
History
Santa Barbara City College was established by the Santa Barbara High School District in 1909, ma ...
, issued a statement noting that "nine of the ten individuals identified as allegedly responsible for the Tea Fire have been confirmed as Santa Barbara City College students." That same day, Dr. Gayle Beebe, president of Westmont College, noted in a press release the college's relief to learn that none of the ten was enrolled at Westmont.
Although the individuals were found guilty of trespassing and holding an illegal bonfire, the DA's office felt there was not enough evidence to convict them of starting the blaze. "After a months-long investigation by several agencies, the District Attorney’s Office decided it could only charge the group with the misdemeanor crimes, the DA felt as though she would be unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the campfire they had started — and, according to group members, extinguished — more than 12 hours earlier had led to the Tea Fire."
Impact
Injuries and evacuations
Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.
Santa Barba ...
officials stated that they had reports of 13 persons injured, including 10 who were treated for smoke inhalation
Smoke inhalation is the breathing in of harmful fumes (produced as by-products of combusting substances) through the respiratory tract. This can cause smoke inhalation injury (subtype of acute inhalation injury) which is damage to the respirator ...
and three with burn injuries, one of whom was critical. There is a foundation for two burn victims of the fire, Lance & Carla Hoffman. Information on this foundation including benefits and donations can be found on Facebook's group "Tea Fire Survivors: Lance and Karla Hoffman". The fire resulted in the evacuation of 5,400 homes with 15,000 residents. Approximately 2,700 evacuees were back home by the November 16, 2008.[ ] There was one fatality amongst the evacuees, a 98-year-old man, though the county sheriff-coroner had not ascertained yet if the death was due to the fire or his many medical problems.
Destruction of 210 homes
The Tea Fire resulted in the destruction of 210 homes in Montecito and Santa Barbara. Of the destroyed homes, 106 were in the city of Santa Barbara, and the remainder were in Montecito. One of the homes destroyed in the fire belonged to actor Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...
(best known for playing "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future
''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...
'' trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...
).
Westmont College
The campus of Westmont College
Westmont College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Montecito, California. It was founded in 1937.
History
Ruth Kerr, owner and CEO of the Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company, established the school as the Bible Missionary Institute in ...
was heavily damaged, though no injuries were reported on the campus. The college's planning for a shelter-in-place was credited with this favorable human outcome. 800 people (students, employees, visitors and neighbors) hunkered down in the gymnasium as the fire burned to within ten feet. The Physics Lab, Psychology Building, Math Building, and 15 of the faculty homes were destroyed. Two of the residence hall buildings in Clark residence hall
A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...
were completely gutted, along with the RD cottage. With the recovery phase initiated over the weekend, faculty and staff were allowed back on campus November 17, but the school was scheduled to remain closed to students until December 1.[ ]
Mount Calvary Retreat House and Monastery
The Mount Calvary Retreat House and Monastery in Santa Barbara, part of the Order of the Holy Cross
The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic order that follows the Rule of St. Benedict.
History
The order was founded in 1884 by the Rev. James Huntington, an Episcopal priest, in New York City. The order moved to Mar ...
, was also destroyed.
Response and resources
California Governor
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
declared a state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
for Santa Barbara County due to the Tea Fire. Schwarzenegger issued a statement that he was "making all state resources available to the fire commanders and was requesting assistance from the federal government as well."
On November 14, 2008, 1,141 personnel were on the scene, including 260 from CalFire, and 25 fire crews. They were supported by 193 engines, 7 dozers, and 1 watertender. Resources were expanded on November 15 to include 2,235 firefighters and 9 helicopters with cost estimates of $3.5 million, which increased to $3.9 million the following day.
Staffed from 8 a.m. to midnight, a public information call center
A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...
was established to provide updates and status reports. Information was made available on the County Government-access television
Government-access television (GATV) is a type of specialty television channel created by government entities (generally local governments) and broadcast over cable TV systems or, in some cases, over-the-air broadcast television stations. GATV pr ...
(GATV) cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
station, as well as specific AM and FM radios that provided Emergency Public Information. CSBTV Channel 20 ran a live video stream
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
.
San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara became an emergency shelter
An emergency shelter is a place for people to live temporarily when they cannot live in their previous residence, similar to homeless shelters. The main difference is that an emergency shelter typically specializes in people fleeing a specific ...
, operated by the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
, Santa Barbara County Chapter. Earl Warren Showgrounds was opened for large animal evacuees, while small animals could be brought to the Santa Barbara Humane Society in Goleta
Goleta or La Goleta may refer to:
* ''Goleta'' (spider), a spider genus
* Goleta, California, United States, a suburban city in Santa Barbara County
* La Goleta, the Spanish and Portuguese name for La Goulette
La Goulette (, it, La Goletta), i ...
.
See also
*2008 California wildfires
The 2008 California wildfire season was one of the most devastating in the state of the 21st century. While 6,255 fires occurred, about two-thirds as many as in 2007, the total area burned— —far exceeded that of previous years.
By July 5, 2008 ...
* Sayre Fire
* Freeway Complex Fire
References
External links
Official Montecito Fire District site
Coverage from the ''Santa Barbara Independent''
Coverage from the ''Los Angeles Times''
Fire information from the County of Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara EdHat Real Time Community Discussion
Erosion Control Resources for Santa Barbara Fire Victims
{{California wildfires by year
2008 California wildfires
Montecito, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Ynez Mountains
History of Santa Barbara County, California
Wildfires in Santa Barbara County, California
November 2008 events in the United States