Jesusita Fire Information

The Gap Fire on the fourth of July 2008, the Tea Fire just six months ago, and on May 5, the Jesusita Fire. Santa Barbara has experienced three major wild fires in just nine months. The wind-driven Jesusita Fire was fully contained on Monday, May 18th, but not before it burned more than 8,700 acres and led to 30,000 mandatory evacuations. Eighty homes, 79 outbuildings, and one commercial property were destroyed. At about 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5th, a day of warm temperatures and high winds, the Jesusita Fire started in the Cathedral Peak area near the popular Jesusita hiking trail above the San Roque and Mission Canyon neighborhoods.  The estimated cost to fight this fire was $17 million. The joint incident command team included City and County Fire Departments, the U.S. Forest Service, Cal-Fire and the Montecito Fire Department. More than 4,000 personnel were on scene, as well as five air tankers including a DC-10 and ten helicopters. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came to Santa Barbara to declare a state of emergency. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.