A stubborn brush fire that consumed 75 foothill homes above the California coastal town of Santa Barbara raged with renewed ferocity for a fourth day on Friday, forcing at least 30,000 people to flee as it advanced on the city and two nearby communities, Reuters reported.
The conflagration, marking the fourth wildfire to strike the affluent, picturesque Santa Barbara area in two years, charred some 3,500 acres by daybreak after a night of hot, dry erratic winds that drove flames across a highway and through more homes.
As of Friday morning, more than 30,000 area residents were ordered to leave their homes and about 23,000 others were warned to be ready to flee at a moment's notice, county officials said. That amounts to over half of the population of Santa Barbara, located 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
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