Fierce wildfire destroys 6 California homes

Los Angles: At least half a dozen homes were destroyed and 2,000 evacuated on the outskirts of Santa Barbara on Wednesday as a fierce, wind-whipped wildfire raged in rugged foothills above the central California seaside city.

The fire, which ignited in the dry brush on Tuesday and was being investigated as an arson, had blackened several hundred acres (hectares) around picturesque Santa Barbara.

Television images showed large hillside homes engulfed in flames as some 900 firefighters fought to keep the blaze away from neighborhoods made up of multimillion-dollar estates.

A total of 12 structures were said to have burned as of Wednesday evening and crews struggled to make headway against the flames, which were driven through steep and sometimes inaccessible canyons by hot, 50-mph (80-kph ) Santa Ana winds.

California Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Santa Barbara County, a move that frees up additional funds and equipment.

The fire was burning in the direction of downtown Santa Barbara and residents there were told they may need to evacuate overnight.

"We are having very extreme weather," Santa Barbara Fire Captain David Sadecki told a news conference. "The fire is moving from the north to the south and it's moving into the neighborhoods."

He said fire engines were "driving up the streets, driving into neighborhoods, doing what we call structure triage."

Officials could not immediately confirm a report in the Santa Barbara News-Press newspaper that two firefighters were injured when they were trapped in a burning home. No residents were reported to have been injured.

Santa Barbara County was asking for aid from fire crews across the state as night fell and winds were expected to pick up at sundown.

As many as 100 fire engines and 400 firefighters were said to be on the way from other communities. Much of the air support, firefighting helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, were grounded because of the high winds and thick smoke.

In Arizona, firefighters battled a 4,200-acre (1,700-hectare) brush fire that broke out on Tuesday in a mountainous area 50 miles southeast of Tucson.

The blaze set in grass and woodland near Sierra Vista torched three homes and several vehicles and outbuildings.

A local homeowner was taken to a burn unit at a hospital in Phoenix for treatment, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Celeste Gordon said. His condition late on Wednesday was not immediately known.

Last November, more than 200 homes were destroyed in Santa Barbara and surrounding communities in a brush fire that was blamed on a campfire started by local students.