Firefighters Burned in Santa Barbara Wildfires

What started as a meandering fire across 200 acres in coastal Southern California has turned into a fast-moving blaze that has consumed homes and threatened the safety of firefighters who are trying desperately to prevent more damage.

It’s unclear how many homes have burned in the Santa Barbara area, because the thick, choking smoke prevents authorities from getting an accurate tally. In at least one case, firefighters were forced to drop their hoses on the spot and flee in their truck when the fire came too fast and furious for them to battle.

The Associated Press reported today that three Ventura County firefighters were injured when their engine was overtaken by flames as they tried to protect a structure, their department said in a statement.

They were airlifted to a Los Angeles burn center, where two were treated for moderate burns and a third was treated for smoke inhalation, according to center spokesman Roy Forbes.

The winds fueling the flames, some upward of 40 to 60 mph, are a phenomenon called “sundowners.” As the heat builds in the valleys, the late afternoon winds dry the surrounding hills. Combined with unseasonably hot temperatures, the weather has created a perfect storm for a raging wildfire.

“We have temperatures of about 102 degrees with very low humidity,” Santa Barbara County fire Capt. David Sadecki said. “All of those factors combined, you can see what the results are.”

Police have gone door to door telling people to get out immediately. There are now at least 2,000 homes under mandatory evacuation.

“They were doing a great job, and things can change just in the snap of a finger, and … all of a sudden a situation that looks like it’s stabilized becomes extremely dangerous,” resident Andy Winchester told “Good Morning America” today.

Residents left their homes dragging suitcases down the street and packing as many possessions as they could into their cars.

“It’s very much the luck of the draw,” Winchester said. “You hope your house survives, you hope every house survives, but you know it is a challenge of the conditions and the firefighters are out there doing a great job and, hopefully, it all works out.”

The fire has so far burned about 500 acres, according to ABC affiliate KABC, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County.

The Associated Press reported that more than 800 firefighters were on the lines, and 20 more strike teams totaling about 1,300 firefighters were requested.

“The firefighters are picking houses and seeing if they can make a stand,” Sadecki told the AP.

The blaze bore down on the city at frightening speed, said Chad Jenson, a food server at Giovanni’s Pizza. “The sky is just deep orange and black, pretty much our whole hillside is going down,” Jenson said.

Residents told KABC that the brush in the Santa Barbara foothills hasn’t burned in more than 40 years.

“We haven’t had a fire in this canyon since 1964, so we’re due,” Kathleen Galbraith, a Santa Barbara resident, said. “We always have everything at the ready to load up all the animals, and we have a sprinkler hooked up to the well to make sure we have it on the house, and then we leave.”