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Tea Fire dwindling; now 80% contained; evacuations reduced

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Firefighters work Saturday to keep the Tea Fire contained in this area of Montecito. By this mornng, firefighters had the blaze, which has burned 210 homes and damaged 9, 75 percent contained.//Ian Gonzaga/Staff

With the disastrous Tea Fire “no longer actively burning,” officials this afternoon further reduced an evacuation zone that had affected thousands of residences, but now includes about 260 homes.

The blaze that erupted during heavy winds Thursday evening destroyed at least 210 homes and damaged nine others in the foothills above Montecito and eastern Santa Barbara, fire officials said. It is now 80 percent contained and firefighters are hoping for full containment by Tuesday.

It scorched an estimated 1,940 acres and has cost more than $4 million to suppress, officials said at an afternoon press conference in Goleta.

Some of some the burned areas continue to smolder, but the fire “is not actively burning anywhere,” said Tom Franklin, deputy fire chief for Santa Barbara County.

Firefighters benefited today and Saturday from more favorable weather, with little or no wind, in stark contrast to the erratic gusts up to 70 mph that whipped the flames into an inferno Thursday night.

Cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Intermittent power outages have been reported in and around the burn area as crews work to repair power lines damaged by the fire.

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More than 2,220 firefighters were battling the blaze at its peak, officials said, but some of that personnel and equipment is now being released to help with a series of other major wildfires in Southern California.






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