Santa Barbara marks ninth anniversary of destructive Tea Fire
Many residents have yet to rebuild
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - This November 13 marks the ninth anniversary of the destructive Tea Fire in Santa Barbara County.
The flames broke out at 6:30 p.m. in the hills above Westmont College back in 2008 in an area known as the old Tea Gardens.
Heavy winds gusting at 70 MPH whipped the flames through parts of the Westmont campus and across Santa Barbara's front-country. The fire chewed through more than 1,900 acres and chased thousands of people from their homes between Hot Springs Road in the Montecito area and Mission Canyon Road in Santa Barbara.
Fire investigators determined that a smoldering bonfire in the Tea Gardens, lit the night before by a group of trespassing Santa Barbara City College students, sparked the destructive blaze.
The students thought they'd put the bonfire out.
At the end of the nearly five day firefight, 210 homes were destroyed and nine others were damaged.
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