Dozens of Homes Destroyed, Thousands Threatened by 'Tea Fire' Near Santa Barbara

Folks watch a home burn in the hills above Santa Barbara, Calif., on Thursday Nov. 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Phil Klein)

At least 100 residences were destroyed by an uncontained brush fire that was spotted in the Montecito hills northeast of Santa Barbara around 6 p.m Thursday and up to 1,200 more remain threatened, according to officials.

Firefighters from as far as Orange County and San Luis Obispo were reporting to the scene of the 800-acre+ wildfire, dubbed the Tea Fire, as of midnight.

High fire danger is forecast through Saturday across the region as conditions remain dry and temperatures rise into the 90's.

Visit KNX, KFWB, KCLU, and the Santa Barbara Independent to follow the story overnight. A GoogleMap of mandatory evacuations is at CrisisWire.

Thanks to Edward Vielmetti who posted this photo (and more) via his brother who lives in the area. We count on your first-hand reports and photos to report this information to the LAist community. Join our Flickr group here.