Burned Homes’ Addresses Released
Teams Assessing Homes
UPDATE: A list of the addresses of structures burned in the Tea Fire has been released and posted on the County of Santa Barbara Web site.
The first list of addresses of structures burned in the Tea Fire, based on assessments by the Montecito Fire Department and the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department, will be updated as more information becomes available.
Because some areas are still subject to mandatory evacuation orders, owners may or may not be able to access their properties yet.
People wanting more information about their properties can call the county’s call center at 681-5197, the Santa Barbara County Chapter of the Red Cross at 687-1331, and this weekend, the City of Santa Barbara’s information line for structure information, which will be fielding calls until 8 p.m. tonight, and tomorrow, Sunday, November 16, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
EARLIER: County and fire officials held a briefing at 2 p.m., and repeated much of the same information from the earlier briefing with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Here are some details not mentioned this morning.
There are at least 130 houses burned down in the City of Santa Barbara, according to Fire Chief Ron Prince, with another 80 or so in the Montecito area. Both numbers are estimates.
Officials expect to release addresses of affected homes at around 4 p.m. today. County chief of building and safety Michael Zimmer said that the county has deployed seven teams to assess the safety of all buildings within the burn area. All homes will be tagged by building officials. A red tag means the home is unsafe to be occupied, a yellow tag means limited entry will be allowed in the home, while a green tag means the building is safe. A number will be on the tag for residents to call for more details.
Mayor Marty Blum said the city is also making similar plans, and mentioned that they are working on a plan to streamline the review process to get rebuilding underway for those who lost their homes.
Operation Chief Bob Bell said firefighters were working under favorable weather conditions. The focus right now is on securing the northern end of the fire while protecting the structures on the southern end.
Sheriff Bill Brown asked for patience and understanding for those trying to get back to their houses behind the evacuation area. “There are still many areas that are unsafe,” he said.
