Fire damages two-story home

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Flames scorched an upstairs room and portions of the attic of a two-story home on West Mountain Drive yesterday afternoon before firefighters wrestled them under control.
Fire crews arrived at 721 W. Mountain Dr. just before 4 p.m. to find smoke billowing from the second floor of the residence, City Deputy Fire Chief Mitch Vaughn said.

After punching two holes in the roof to allow the fire to vent, firefighters hit the flames with water to bring it under control. An investigation into the cause of the blaze is ongoing and authorities had yet to calculate the estimated damage.
“They’ll have to tear out the ceiling, a couple of walls,” Dep. Chief Vaughn said. “…There was a lot of smoke damage.”
He did not know if anyone was home at the time of the fire and said he was told the home is unoccupied. Firefighters from the City of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County and Montecito responded to the scene.
When asked if structure fires in the canyon areas of Santa Barbara are of particular concern due to large amounts of dry brush and vegetation, Dep. Chief Vaughn said that’s always a thought.
“It’s just another thing to think about,” he said. “I don’t know that we take it any more seriously than anything else, it’s just something else to consider.”