Despite a massive crew of firefighters, a destructive wildfire that has destroyed more than 100 homes in an exclusive Southern California area continued to rage out of control Friday night.
Enflamed by stiff winds and fuelled by highly flammable eucalyptus trees, the fire quickly grew from a small brush fire into an explosive blaze that imperiled the homes of celebrities like Oprah and Michael Douglas.
The fire has also consumed a section of a Christian university and forced students to take shelter in a school gymnasium.
More than 1,000 firefighters backed by water-dropping helicopters battled the blaze into the night as blistering winds continued to feed the fire.
On Friday afternoon, crews feared the fire would spread as regular evening winds, known locally as "sundowners," begin to pick up again.
"Control of this fire is not even in sight," said Santa Barbara County fire chief Ron Prince earlier in the day.
Several fire departments, including 20 helicopter water bombers, were helping battle the fire.
The blaze began Thursday evening in the wealthy community of Montecito, Calif., southeast of Santa Barbara.
Crews, including helicopter pilots wearing with night-vision goggles, responded rapidly and worked to extinguish the flames during the night.
However, powerful evening winds - sometimes gusting to 113 kilometres an hour - pushed the fire with alarming speed.
By Friday, the wildfire had spread so quickly that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had declared a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County.
Thirteen people have been injured and thousands have fled their houses. Roughly 5,400 homes were evacuated in Montecito, where Jeff Bridges, Rob Lowe and Oprah all own houses.
Lowe said he left his home along with his kids after the fire spread to a nearby hill and flames shot 70 metres into the air.
"Embers were falling. Wind was 70 miles an hour, easily, and it was just like Armageddon," Lowe told KABC-TV. "You couldn't hear yourself think."
However, Lowe said his house had bee spared Friday.
When resident Tom Bain was ordered out of his home around 12 a.m. Friday morning, he quickly grabbed his three cats and a few other possessions before fleeing.
"I saw $15 million in houses burn, without a doubt," the 54-year-old electrician told The AP.
"They were just blowing up. It was really, intensely hot."
Leslie Hollis Lopez was collecting her most valuable possessions and preparing to leave her home when she told AP the fire "looked like lava coming down a volcano."
In one of the more dramatic incidents, students at Westmont College were forced to hunker down in the gymnasium as the wildfire burned several classrooms and a dormitory.
According to the Montecito Fire website, the danger was considered extreme.
Many of the 100 homes that have been destroyed are sprawling estates.
At one time more than 20,000 houses were without power in Santa Barbara as the result of the fire, Southern California Edison spokesperson told AP.
"You can just hear the explosions ... of vehicles, homes," Michael Rosso told KCAL-TV as he prepared to leave his home. "It sounds like the Fourth of July out here."
With files from The Associated Press
