Wildfire — Santa Barbara County South Coast, California

2009-05-05 to 2009-05-20 · Santa Barbara County South Coast, California

Event narrative

The Jesusita Wildfire burned 8,733 acres of land in the hills above the city of Santa Barbara. The fire was driven by a combination of a large dead fuel bed and gusty Sundowner winds. Automated sensors in the vicinity of the fire reported northerly wind gusts in excess of 60 MPH for many hours which were supported by observations from the fireline. Overall, 80 homes were destroyed and another 15 homes were badly damaged. No deaths were reported, but at least 30 firefighters reported some type of injury. Suppression costs were in excess of $17 million with no report of the amount of property damage.

Wider weather episode

The Jesusita Fire burned over 8,700 acres in the hills above the city of Santa Barbara. This wildfire was driven by a combination of a large dead fuel bed and Sundowner winds gusting over 60 MPH. The damage as a result of this fire was significant with 80 homes destroyed and another 15 homes badly damaged. No deaths were reported but at least 30 firefighters were injured battling the fire.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 169359. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.