As the Thomas fire began to bear down on Montecito on Saturday morning, Darren Caesar was packing up and getting ready to flee for a beachside hotel. Nobody can fight the wind.”It was that kind of a morning in the upscale coastal communities in southern Santa Barbara County. For nearly a week, the monster fire had been making runs at the the towns south of Santa Barbara. Last Sunday, several homes were destroyed when winds pushed the fire into hillside communities. Kern said he and his Montana crew saved two homes that began to burn Saturday morning off Ashley Lane.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 16, 2017 22:41 UTC