May 19, 2013
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - A raging wildfire is moving
dangerously close to heavily populated areas in Santa Barbara this
morning.
As firefighters struggled to get ahead of the blaze, the fire's increasing strength prompted officials to order 6,000 more people
to evacuate. That pushed the total number of evacuated residents to
at least 18,000.
Another evacuation order was issued early today in a densely populated area north of U.S. 101 where many mobile home parks are located.
Meantime, neighborhoods of multimillion dollar mansions stand like ghost towns, bathed in the eerie orange glow cast by the
nearby blaze.
Santa Barbara city fire spokesman Gary Pitney says the fire has pushed west across a key thoroughfare between Santa Barbara and wine country to the north.
Fire official Kelley Gouette likened the fire to "a
blowtorch."
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