A stalled wildfire roared back to life Wednesday as gusting winds swooped down from mountains behind the city, pushing flames toward neighborhoods below and sending a plume of smoke out to sea.
The fire, last reported at nearly 200 acres, became active on all sides and spot fires developed around the perimeter, said city fire Capt. Mike dePonce.
"We were projecting 50 mph down-canyon gusts, and that's exactly what we're getting now," he said.
The flames erupted Tuesday and quickly spread through brush at elevations above the city, which still bears the scars of a November blaze that burned more than 200 homes in Santa Barbara and neighboring Montecito.
As many as 2,000 homes were threatened and more than half were under mandatory evacuation orders since late Tuesday afternoon. Sixteen schools and child care centers were closed.
Calm winds early Wednesday had reduced the fire to wispy plumes, but Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Tom Franklin had warned about forecast winds and urged evacuees not to return. He said those in unevacuated neighborhoods near the fire should be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.
The fire was in brush that last burned 50 years ago and there was no containment, Franklin said.
"We have a lot of open line out there and a lot of work to do," he said.
Helicopters and planes dumped water and fire retardant while ground crews attacked the flames head-on, concentrating on its southern flank to protect neighborhoods there.
Santa Barbara rises rapidly from the Pacific coastline on the south to the foothills of the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains to the north. It is sometimes subject to "sundowners" - strong winds that blow downslope through passes and canyons of the mountain range and offshore.
Elsewhere, a fire in rural southeastern Arizona had destroyed three houses near Sierra Vista and injured one person. The fire had charred about 1,500 acres near Fort Huachuca. Containment was estimated at 25 percent early Wednesday, reported AP.
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