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A fast-moving wildfire has destroyed around 20 homes and forced evacuations in the hills of the wealthy Southern California coastal town of Montecito, authorities have said.
TV helicopters showed several large homes in flames on the steep hillsides of the town near Santa Barbara that boasts multimillion-dollar mansions and several celebrity residents, including TV talk show star Oprah Winfrey.
"It may be more than 20 homes so far," Santa Barbara city fire official John Ahlman told KTLA TV.
Some 160 hectares have burned since the fire started at sundown as winds whipped down the hills toward the ocean, around eight kms south of the city of Santa Barbara.
Southern California is on high wildfire alert this weekend due to unseasonably hot weather, drought conditions and forecasts of strong Santa Ana winds blowing in from the desert.
A year ago, 30 wildfires burned during one week in Southern California, destroying some 2,000 homes and forcing a record 500,000 residents to evacuate.
