Dark smoke rose from a heavily wooded area across the street from the Maravilla retirement complex in Goleta on Black Friday in the most visible of a number of fires that broke out this past weekend. By Sunday night, about five fires in homes, a garage, and roadside brush had been contained by firefighters in south Santa Barbara County.
The Goleta fire started around 4 p.m. near a homeless camp among eucalyptus trees and heavy brush sheltering the camp from view of Calle Real and northbound 101 highway at the Patterson Avenue onramp. County Fire Station 12 is right next door to the senior facility, and crews brought the fire under control by around 4:45 p.m. A woman was taken to Cottage hospital with possible burn injuries.
A second fire about 100 yards to the north was reported a half hour later, reaching up into the trees overhanging another camp and scattering embers into the highway lanes and center divider. Sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers continued to divert traffic to the fast lane to leave the slow lane open for firefighting work. Weather conditions on Friday were very dry but free of wind. Investigators are examining both scenes to determine the cause of the fires.