Sheriff Says 10 People Thought to be Responsible for Tea Fire

A multiagency probe and an anonymous tip leads investigators to a Tea House bonfire the night before the blaze started.

By Sonia Fernandez, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Updated 6:35 p.m. | Published on 11.18.2008

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Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, with Matt Jenkins of the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, describes the multiagency investigation of the Tea Fire. (Sonia Fernandez / Noozhawk photo)

Ten young adults are believed to be responsible for the $5 million Tea Fire, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told a hastily arranged news conference late Tuesday afternoon.

“Today’s developments certainly do not resolve this terrible tragedy, but they do provide us with the answer as to how the fire started,” Brown said in announcing the findings of the investigation into the devastating blaze that burned 2,000 acres in the western Montecito foothills, upper Sycamore Canyon and Rattlesnake Canyon.

One death has been linked indirectly to the fire and there have been a score of injuries, including three critical burn injuries. The fire destroyed 210 homes, burned through the Westmont College campus and left the renowned Mount Calvary Retreat House & Monastery in ruins.

According to Brown, the individuals, local men and women ages 18-22, had built a bonfire late in the evening on Nov. 12, by a wall in the Tea Garden, a popular hangout spot located in the 700 block of East Mountain Drive just northwest of the Westmont campus. They left the area between 3 and 5 a.m. Thursday but apparently failed to put out the fire completely.

“It is not uncommon for fires of this type to smolder and have ignition potential for several days,” Brown said. “Due to the weather conditions Thursday, the fire reignited.”

By Thursday evening, the fire was raging, propelled by winds gusting to 70 mph and accelerated by temperatures in the upper 80s.

The individuals deemed responsible for the fire were found as a result of a multiagency investigation with the cooperation of the Sheriff’s Department, the county Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service, the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Ventura County Fire Department. A critical lead through the Sheriff’s Department anonymous tip line led to the discovery of the 10 individuals thought to be responsible for the blaze. Officials have declined to name the individuals, as the investigation is ongoing.

At this time, Brown said, the cause of the fire is not thought to be of malicious intent, and the individuals involved have been cooperative. They are associated with a school, said Brown, who declined to identify which school, or whether it might be Westmont.

Reports will be filed with the District Attorney’s Office early next week, and the DA will determine whether criminal charges will be filed in the case. Charges, if any, would be related to negligence as opposed to criminal intent, Brown said.

Write to sfernandez@noozhawk.com

Comments

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» Robert C. Meltzer on 11.18.08 @ 04:10 PM

“not of malicious intent”? But perhaps of a really high level of stupidity. A bonfire in a high fire zone in the midst of high fire season? Deserves mention in the dumbo hall of fame. I suggest months of public service fixing problems caused by other stupid people.

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» Br. Joseph Brown, OHC on 11.18.08 @ 05:42 PM

If this is true, then it is very difficult for me to process the feelings. I was one of the monks at Mount Calvary Monastery. It was my home and the spiritual home of literally tens of thousands of people from around the world. Priceless works or art, books, historical treasures pertaining to the Order, archives and all of my personal possessions of the monks were lost. And this is the point at which being a Christian Monastic reaches its very core. I have to forgive these young people, AND do all that I can to help them. If I am unable to do that, then my habit, and my place in the monastery was a sham. That is what Christianity is, not Yes on Prop 8, not Faldwell or Dobson. It is forgiveness and reaching out to those who have hurt us. If as a monk I am unable to do that, then I did not deserve to live at Mount Calvary.

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» motormouth on 11.18.08 @ 05:47 PM

Officials declined to name the suspects or the school? That’s a new one. Since when are suspects identities kept confidential. Especially since it sounds like they didn’t exactly come forward. It’s one thing to take immediate responsibility and cooperate. Brown is making these folks sound like they did nothing wrong. If they hadn’t received a tip, would these youths have come forward?

I guess if you get caught, after trying to hide the truth, and go to a university, you get to keep your crime confidential until the dust settles.

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» huh? on 11.18.08 @ 06:55 PM

No malicous intent - is that sort of like manslaughter? The entire Los Padres National Forest has been closed to all open fires for many months for good reason.

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» Kevin Hart on 11.18.08 @ 07:17 PM

As the owner of the property nearest the tea gardens, I lost my family home, our dream home. we have spent the majority of the last 15 years working on completing this labor of love. We lost all our family history, heirlooms, jewelry, mementos and photos, along with a large part of our income. We were on the edge, financially, before this, and insurance will not come close to either rebuilding, or paying off the mortgage.
Of course what these kids did was “stupidity”.
Maybe if I had never done anything stupid, especially at that age, I could hold some malice toward these kids, but the reality is, their consciences will make them pay a price for the rest of their lives.
Thank you Brother Johnson for giving us a good model of forgiveness.

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» sbnative on 11.18.08 @ 07:28 PM

Agree with Meltzer only this shows a CRIMINAL level of stupidity—just like killing someone while drunk driving. Until penalties for arson - be it “accidental” or malicious - are increased this will keep happening. For those of us who live in fire-prone areas that is just not acceptable.

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» Norman Chalmers on 11.19.08 @ 01:55 AM

The District Attorney should be charged with criminal negligence if she does not prosecute anyone who builds an open fire in this tinderbox in which we reside. Reporting the fire as costing $5 million (the cost of fighting it, as I understand) is misleading and insulting to those whose homes were lost and lives irreparably altered.

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» Stacy Bloodworth on 11.19.08 @ 02:19 AM

Wow! What do you do in a situation like this. It was obviously unintentional and possibly a mistake that many people could make, yet so many homes are ruined and lives disrupted. Not to mention the people who were critically injured. It will be interesting to know if the anonymous tip was actually one of the kids who noticed the fire burning and called. I think alot of people may feel a little better knowing they didn’t just completely ignore it and tried to call for help. Certainly a message for people to pay more attention and be responsible for their actions.

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» TrailHacker on 11.19.08 @ 03:45 AM

Forgiveness is divine but penance is good for the body and soul. I would agree with years of public service. I lost my house in the Painted Cave fire, still have pain from that especially when I see it happen again to other good people, and in a few cases the same good people. It hurt me to see the arsonist who started that fire around town doing nothing constructive to help others or in any way redeem himself.

On another point - I can’t help seeing the prejudice in the insinuation that these are good local kids who made a mistake. Let’s see if they ever tell us who they are so we can see if there is racial/economic/educational profiling going on.

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» Art on 11.19.08 @ 03:54 AM

“... the $5 million Tea Fire…”
I wonder how they figure the fire was only $5 mil when 210 homes, plus the Monastery plus part of Westmont were destroyed. At $1 mil pre house it would be over $200 mil.
So perhaps the number is $500 mil vs. $5 mil…???

[Editor’s note: That figure is only the official firefighting cost as overall damage estimates are still being compiled. We explained that in an earlier story but didn’t make the distinction in this one. Our apologies.]

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» D. Jahadhmy on 11.19.08 @ 03:57 AM

This is typical of Santa Barbara, if these indivisuals were of a different back round and lets just say they lived on the eastside of town, they would be paraded around for everyone to see and names would be given. And there would be no question of their guilt but because they are from the Monticetio area or that school no doubt,no one will do anything to them. Even though there was a death involved and hundreds driven from their homes, they will most likely get a slap on the hand and told please don’t do that again, lets keep it a secret so those ten people can go on with their lives while others suffer especialy aorund the holidays great going Santa Barbara, great going.

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» ginna Graham on 11.19.08 @ 04:02 AM

Brother Brown and my other friends from the Mount. I have wanted to contact you all and have wondered where you are. I spent a few years at the Mount caring for the house. I know every little inch of that house and have been horrified to think it is all gone.
My prayers are with you all at this time. Please let Father William Brown and Father Robert Hagler that I would love to contact them to loan a thought and prayer of support-
Ginna
Michael Lannon’s daughter

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» Julie from Goleta on 11.19.08 @ 05:14 AM

I have never been to the Tea Garden. Is there a designated fire pit in place for bonfires?

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» little birdie on 11.19.08 @ 05:22 AM

little birdie heard they are SBCC students, not Westmont

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» Jenny on 11.19.08 @ 05:38 AM

I’m humbled by the comment of Br. Brown from the destroyed Mt. Calvary.
His words remind us that Christianity (or any other religion or spiritualism that an individual holds) is largely internal. To keep a faith is to act in accordance with it. As the Br. commented, this involves not just external acts such as a political stance. It is not complete by donating to charity. The hardest test of faith is an INTERNAL struggle in the face of tragedy.

My belief is that this struggle never really ends. Years later the pain of tragedy can surprise in its sharpness.
In the case of a crime, one has to consider whether to forgive the perpetrator (known or unknown). In case of natural disaster or illness it may destroy one’s faith completely.

Knowing that “it is very difficult” for Br. Brown to “process the feelings” is helpful for me and I would hope for others who have experienced loss. If a monk who has dedicated his life to religion has difficulty doing this, it gives the rest of us permission to struggle as well: it’s not easy. When next week or next month the news moves to another tragedy it seems as if we are supposed to be finished with our feelings of loss too. Others who may initially have sympathized or talked with us about it express little interest and the world seems to think you ought to have moved on.

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» C. Demachkie on 11.19.08 @ 05:55 AM

Stupidity doesn’t even begin to cover it. The Tea Garden is on private property and these kids trespassed intentionally - they had to breach a chainlink fence that is clearly marked to stay out. And they started a fire?? That’s criminal in and of itself. Add to that, the absolute devastation they brought on innocent people. How about the couple that are fighting for their lives at the Burn Center right now? How about all the animals that lost their lives - family pets as well as wildlife? How about all the people who lost EVERYTHING but the shirts on their backs, and the many others who have been displaced? How about all our firefighters who put their lives on the line to defend our citizens, their homes and property? I am sickened. Regardless of what the DA decides to do, these kids owe a public apology and I agree with Robert Meltzer that they need to commit themselves to significant public service for every person they hurt. What an outrage.

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» John Frost on 11.19.08 @ 06:09 AM

BR. Brown:

I am very sorry for your loss but based on the thoughts you share with us here, I suspect if anyone can forgive it will be you. If more deeply religious individuals shared your views, Christianity would be the beacon of hope that God intended it to be…

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» kid on 11.19.08 @ 06:18 AM

Even if the kids are not charged their lives are forever changed… imagine the guilt of knowing that you DISTROYED peoples live and almost kill some in the process. I will be praying for those families who are affected and the kids that started the fire.

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» Thankful on 11.19.08 @ 06:21 AM

BR. Brown thank you for your amazing statement. We have been forgiven and we must forgive.

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» kat on 11.19.08 @ 06:31 AM

Why did it take an “anonymous tip” to identify the wrongdoers? Shouldn’t the students have come forward and identified themselves? This is the equivalent of a hit-and-run - there are deaths and critical injuries involved—and they should be fully prosecuted as criminals.

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» An Interested Observer on 11.19.08 @ 06:47 AM

Last year, in similar weather conditions, two ranch workers of hispanic descent were trying to repair a broken water line in order to get water to their cattle in Foxen Canyon. They inadvertantly ignited a brush fire that came to be known as the Zaca Fire. As I recall, no homes were destroyed in that fire. The two workers were were indicted by County law enforcement authorities for allegedly committing a felony offense (fortunately, the court recently dismissed those felony charges). A different standard?

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» Born and Raised Local on 11.19.08 @ 07:19 AM

This is truly heartbreaking on so many levels. But, once again, we as a community will come together and help carry those who have been hurt, damaged and fallen.
I look back to my youth and can only reflect on “If not for the grace of God go I.”
The guilt these young pople will have to live with, the agony those who have lost everything will have to endure
and the pain of witnessing loved ones suffer, all require us as a community to band together in order for us to move on. These youths need to stand in the light of integrity, ask for forgivness and live the rest of their lives at making this world a better place.

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» kspot on 11.19.08 @ 07:24 AM

I’m not an attorney, but it seems irresponsible for the Sheriff to make that statement when you compare what happened to the two ranch hands who accidentally started the Zaca fire. Those guys were ostensibly just doing their job when they accidentally started that fire, and look what happened to them. I’m not saying the people who started this one should have to pay the whole bill, but they did commit misdemeanors coupled with world-class stupidity, and they should be held responsible in some rational way. The amount of guilt they may or may not feel is irrelevant to their crimes.

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» Just thinking on 11.19.08 @ 07:32 AM

The Montecito Planning Commission with NIMBY’s yamering from every corner rejected a plan by the owners of the Tea Garden to rebuild. If approved, it would be occupied, and if occupied no one would be there unwatched. Something to think about.

When we deny the right of property owners to use their property, there are many prices we pay, never thought this would be one but it is -

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» martin l. on 11.19.08 @ 07:53 AM

i do hope that those responsible, although not intentionally so, get a hefty, hefty fine and even jail time. amazing how ridiculously selfish people tend to be.

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» DougL on 11.19.08 @ 07:55 AM

The school the kids attend should have provided them with important information about the area, especially the danger of wildfires. Did it?

Of course everyone should know that fires are an extreme danger in this area, but we aren’t born knowing that, and we even need to be reminded from time to time. Kids raised in this area probably learn it by reading and hearing stories about it while they are growing up, but it’s likely that in this case some of the kids who started the fire did not grow up here.

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» goleta guy on 11.19.08 @ 08:02 AM

although forgiveness however hard it is, is a must; i think not charging these kids criminally is a bad precedent for the sheriff to set…

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» Sycamore Canyon Resident on 11.19.08 @ 08:25 AM

No one has yet reported the irreparable impacts to 10 homeowners in the Conejo landslide area who are being told by the City they can not even rebuild! The City Council needs to show some leadership and either find the money to stabilize the hillside these 50 year old homes were on or to somehow find an acceptable liability waiver methodology to allow them to rebuild. Perhaps the parents of these students could start a legal relief fund for these catastrophic victims.

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» Stella on 11.19.08 @ 08:26 AM

This is a post I placed on the Indie blog on this were many people have already had a trial and want to hang Westmont - including the opinion that Westmont should be sold.

enjoy -

Sheriff Brown is a wise man.

As exhibited here, there are those who are willing to jump to a conclusion, or worse to create a conclusion to forward a personal hate about a person or a group of people.

Lets say these are Westmont students, I read here that because they might have voted in favor of Prop 8, and because they are from out of town, the college campus should be sold to pay the victims.

What if it is not Westmont? What if it was the UCSB Gay and Lesbian Club? Should UCSB be sold to pay the victims?

Westmont as a College and the faculty have been hit maybe the hardest by this fire, and if it is caused by another group, how will Westmont respond?

Will Westmont attack them because they may voted differently at some time on some issue?

Will Westmont and those faculty who have lost everything demand - those in any way related to those who started the fire be forced to sell and give them money?

I doubt it. I think Westmont after all the pain and cost, will forgive.

Maybe Westmont is in our community for a reason. Maybe we can learn forgiveness and integrity from these young men and young women.

And maybe we can see the extreme sharp contrast to those who hate Westmont no matter what and Westmont and their students and then determine who do we want as a neighbor at a time of trouble or who we want around when we make a mistake or need a helping hand.

For me the answer is clear. I will pick Westmont, they are a bright light in a community obsessed with wealth and selfishness.

Time to back off, wait for the truth and then there are many on this blog who need to apologize if what most know that it was not Westmont students.

Will you?

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» Telford Work on 11.19.08 @ 09:09 AM

For what it’s worth, the Los Angeles Times article on the bonfire included this:

“Nancy Phinney, a Westmont spokeswoman, said the college did not think that any of its students were involved. The school lost several buildings and 14 faculty homes in the fire. ‘We have been working closely and cooperating fully with fire officials and at no point has anyone said that any of our students have been implicated,’ Phinney said.” Westmont’s website also has a statement to that effect.

You know, the problem isn’t one school or another. The problem is that not enough young people nowadays understand fire safety. As a father and leader in an area Scout troop, what I would love to see is a Santa Barbara High School District-wide initiative to educate all our junior high and high school students about the basics: when and where not to light a fire, how to prepare a fire area, how to extinguish fires properly, and the like. We teach our new Scouts this stuff right away. Kids who don’t camp need the same skills if they’re even going to be tempted to do this kind of thing. If only one or two of those ten kids had the knowledge, the fire might have been put out properly; or better still, it might never have been lit in the first place.

And yes, as someone who teaches at Westmont, I’d like our students to know these things too. Many camped and hiked growing up, but many others didn’t. Whether it’s a late night party, a campfire, a cigarette, a barbecue, or a power tool that sparks, it’s a hazard that needs to be respected.

After a few years of fire safety ed, we would have a much better educated population and a safer Santa Barbara.

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» sbnative on 11.19.08 @ 09:31 AM

No matter what the “truth” turns out to be, it’s CRIMINAL to start a fire in a high fire danger area and EVERYONE knows that. You don’t get a pass on that—these young ADULTS should be prosecuted. YES, they should be made an example of. Enough is enough. (At least the Zaca Fire was started by people working!)

And if it’s “true” that the Montecito Planning Commission prohibited the rightful owners from re-building on this parcel, then they too should be held accountable. Stupidity happens at all levels, but in this case it’s CRIMINAL.

It’s time for some accountability.

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» Loving Mother on 11.19.08 @ 11:10 AM

Thanks Br. Joseph for your post. I hope many will heed your words and learn to forgive. Yes, these kids were wrong, very wrong, and I would hope they feel a lot of guilt. As to why they did not come forward voluntarily? I am sure they were terrified at the prospect of what they had done. How many of you would have stepped forward and said “Yes, I am the guilty party, I was careless and started the fire?”. I would doubt many of you would have if you are honest with yourselves. I will forgive these kids and hope there is some kind of price they have to pay, such as community service, but I would hope they are not sent to jail or prison for this. Would you want your child to be punished in that way? I would not. Yes, punish them and make them pay back in some way.

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» Just wishing on 11.19.08 @ 11:47 AM

To “Just Thinking”.

I am wishing that the Monecito Planning Commission did not leave the Tea Garden as a vacant attractive nuisance in our community. If someone owns it and has a plan to rebuild and protect the historic, why not?

Sometimes the NIMBY’s cause more harm.

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» Loving Mother on 11.19.08 @ 12:24 PM

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» Loving Mother on 11.19.08 @ 12:26 PM

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» Loving Mother on 11.19.08 @ 12:26 PM

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» Loving Mother on 11.19.08 @ 12:55 PM

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» Cheryn English on 11.19.08 @ 02:38 PM

To err is human, forgiveness divine, but if these were not white Westmont kids, the book would be thrown at them, jail time and penalties. The sherriff took awhile to decide on forgiveness for the Mexican workers who accidentally set off the Zaca fire. I think months of community service not good enough for penance, should be years of community service, penalties, parole for five years and no associating with people who have bonfires!

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» westmont.edu on 11.19.08 @ 04:43 PM

Please check out http://www.westmont.edu and preferably, start apologizing to the Westmont students.

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» Mike on 11.19.08 @ 04:55 PM

How irresponsible of Sheriff Brown to link this group to a school. Starting rumors and giving cause to finger pointing without releasing facts in very wrong!

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» motormouth on 11.19.08 @ 05:54 PM

Anyone who’s points a finger at anyone without the facts is a fool. I would hope most people don’t buy it. But then again, most of you people spend half your life glued to TV, so….whatever the media says, you believe with open arms. The few that are pointing fingers can not be blamed, especially when the Sheriff makes statements.

For the the Christian Brother, to forgive and forget is easy from your standpoint, especially when you can go to a new location. But not so easy for the families who are scrambling to find shelter and clothes. I can’t help but sense from some of you a community pardon for this. The punishment should fit the crime.

What rubs me is that we have college students (supposedly educated?) acting like 5-6 year olds. Could we assume that no one stepped up from this group and said, “No, don’t start a fire here dude, it’s a bad idea.” Why didn’t someone act and take leadership?

And to finish my point, these kids don’t come forward, and try to hide their actions. Classic.

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» Magarita G on 11.19.08 @ 09:41 PM

Please stop.
Let’s just try to regain peace in our hearts.
Do not play the blaming game.
It is already hard enough as it is, why should we want to span the suffering even more?
Why mention, the Mexican, the Christian, the white students, the. .. whatever.
This is a tragedy and tragedies come to our lives to change us for the better, maybe we, the adults, need to take better care of our community and of our kids.
Think for a second if you are one of the persons affected or if you are not, do you have a 19 or a 21 year old child? What would you do to him/her if it were one of the ones who accidentally began the fire?
How would you punish him/her enough to pay for what all those people and everyone around them is suffering and have lost? How much suffering from those 10 kids would be enough for them to pay? If you were the parent what would you do to your child?
Do you really think that what happened can be repay, nothing will ever be the same nor for those kids, nor for anybody in Santa Barbara, but we can learn from this, and have more precautions, prepare our community better, we can work united doing our best to avoid tragedies like this one.
I have a 19 year old child, and no, she did not begin the fire, but I could only imagine it could happen to any of us.
It is so hard not to cry when thinking of all the damage and all the people whose lives have been irremediably changed. I cannot even fancy what those kids are going through learning that not even knowing everything that has happened and all that will continue happening for long time—life time, it happened because of them, even more, knowing the anger and the intensity or revenge thoughts concerning them. We are all victims, we are all suffering, and we are all affected. Let’s be in peace, let’s be in love.
MG

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» Art on 11.22.08 @ 06:21 AM

SBNative had it right…
“It’s time for some accountability.”

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» Kim Miller on 11.22.08 @ 07:28 AM

The workers who accidentally started the Zaca fire as part of road work were, I would think, less culpable than those who intentionally light a bonfire in a no-fire zone.

That said, Margarita G. & others are right to practice forgiveness and compassion.

I also agree with the Scoutmaster: A bonfire can be properly put out if young people are well trained, experienced, and alert. Our community needs to focus on educating our children in real, age-appropriate fire safety.

For young children, obviously that means “don’t play with matches, stay away from fire”. Older children should be taught, and practice, how to build a fire and put it out properly. Right now there is a big gap in that second phase of education; young people are supposed to go directly from “Don’t touch matches” to being an expert on fires, often with no or little training.

What the Scouts (and other programs, such as the YMCA) do to connect people to the wilderness and outdoor experience is invaluable, not just from the practical viewpoint of fire and water safety, but for many other excellent reasons as well. All of our community’s children need this hands-on, practical education.

The question is, in what venue? Schools are overloaded with state educational standards to teach, and many parents may not have the time or skill. Someday, we need to figure this out.

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» 2cents on 11.22.08 @ 10:45 AM

First, those of you who jumped to conclusions need to apologize to Westmont students who had no part in this kind of activity…It was SBCC students who are involved.

Second, I think that there should be an organized program to teach kids in school the dangers of fire - and the students who are to blame should take part in presenting it (once they learn) and imploring the students not to make their mistake…kind of like how we had visiting speakers during driver’s ed in high school who showed us the horrors of drunk driving.

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» Goodfolk83 on 11.23.08 @ 09:57 AM

If you do not wish to reveal the school the students are from,at least take Westmont off the hook. You drop the notion that it could be Westmont in your article, but according to KEYT the students are from another school.

[Editor’s note: At no time did Noozhawk’s reporting indicate Westmont students were involved. We debated whether to even include the law enforcement mention of Westmont but ultimately decided that, because of the proximity to campus, our readers would draw the conclusion even if we did not. Click here for more information.]

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» More of same on 11.24.08 @ 05:36 AM

Will the public ever be entitled to find out more about these ten? Names, occupations, how the county plans to handle this situation?...etc?

[Editor’s note: You do know the official investigation is ongoing, right?]

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» Concern Citizen on 11.25.08 @ 07:24 AM

I agree with Motormouth comments,why are they keeping it hush hush if it would of been other youths…..their names would of been all over the news. What’s the big secret expose them and make them accountable for their actions!!!

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» gail lightfoot on 11.29.08 @ 11:50 AM

Zero tolerance for a toy knife in schools and lots of tolerance for students who should know better. If they are non residents of CA, the college should be educating them to the danger of fire in our state.

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» Kate on 11.29.08 @ 01:57 PM

No need to prosecute, no need to disclose their identities. What the authories SHOULD do - is hold the adults accountable. The students - regardless of where they come from - should take a year off from school & help the people whose lives they have affected forever. There is much to be done now to rebuild their lives; there are properties to be cleaned up, clothes to be bought, insurance matters to be taken care of, furnitures to replace. Seems there is much physical labor that can be done around the properties to help the victims who have so much to deal with right now. We have 10 able & “response - able” bodies who should be compelled to be responsible for their actions. The victims know more than I how they can help.

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