SANTA BARBARA, CA (December 18, 2017) – Firefighters were able to halt the progress of the Thomas Fire as it came within less than half a mile of Montecito Covenant Church on Saturday.
The church suffered no damage, nor did the buildings of Oceanhills Covenant Church in Santa Barbara or Community Covenant Church in Goleta, all of which had been under evacuation orders.
The Samarkand Covenant Retirement Community in Santa Barbara also was safe. The community never received evacuation orders.
On Sunday about 150 members of the Montecito and Oceanhills congregations worshiped together at The Loft, the 6,000-square-foot building that the latter normally uses Monday through Saturday.
It was a welcome opportunity. On Saturday afternoon, Oceanhills pastor Jon Ireland, wrote in a message, “Gusts of 65 mph picked up coming down the canyons blowing fire toward city—very close to Westmont and several friends’ homes—complete chaos….We’re taking it a few hours at a time right now.”
Jon Lemmond, associate pastor at Montecito Covenant, added that the tension was really wearing on people in the communities. Twenty-one families from the church lost their homes in the Tea Fire in 2008.
Westmont College is located next to the Montecito church. Firefighters had to put out several spot fires that burned grass on Saturday, but that was the extent of the damage.
Pastors had described Santa Barbara as “a ghost town” because so many people had left, either in response to evacuation orders or because of dangerous ash and smoke in the air. Ashes piled up at least an inch deep in some areas. Everyone who stayed wore protective industrial masks.
The fire, which is now the state’s third-largest wildfire, started 40 miles north of Montecito two weeks ago before nearly moving onto the grounds of the Montecito church. It has destroyed more than 1,000 structures, including at least 750 homes.
Calfire announced today that they have contained 45 percent of the fire. Diminished winds have helped their progress.
