A massive house fire heavily damaged a residence on the Riviera in Santa Barbara, but proper vegetation clearance helped stop the blaze from spreading. 

Just before 10 a.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara, Montecito, Santa Barbara County and Carpinteria-Summerland fire departments were dispatched to the blaze on the 1300 block of Dover Hill Road below Franceschi Park.

Smoke in the home alerted one woman inside to the fire, and she was able to safely escape the structure, Acting Division Chief Mike DePonce told Noozhawk.

The woman notified the two residents who were not home at the time.

Upon arrival, firefighters reported heavy flames showing from the first and second levels of the two-story residence, and later advised of exploding ordnance from the home’s lower floor.

“They were behind right away with the amount of fire load they were faced with,” DePonce said. “After the fire growth got to the point where they couldn’t effectively stop it, they went into a defensive operation.”

Firefighters use a ladder truck on Saturday to pour water on a fire at a residence on Dover Hill Road in Santa Barbara’s Riviera neighborhood. (Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo)

Due to concerns about collapsing floors and the structure’s dangerous condition, the incident commander ordered crews to remain at a safe distance to battle the blaze. 

“It’s more challenging for us to fight a defensive fire than when we can go at it offensively,” he said. 

Access to the scene added another challenge, since the neighborhood has narrow roads and firefighters had “pretty extensive hose lays to get up the hill to the structure.”

“I can tell it was a challenging hose deployment for them,” he added.

Two hours after being dispatched to the scene, crews were still extinguishing hot spots, he added.

Investigators from the city Fire Department were joined by counterparts from the Montecito and Carpinteria-Summerland fire agencies in trying to pinpoint the cause of the fire. 

While fire crews had to deal with some windy conditions, they were aided by homeowners' readiness for a possible fire. 

“These homeowners up here have wonderful defensible spacing with their vegetation,” DePonce said, noting cactus, palms and good clearance from any structures. “There was was no additional growth of the fire in the vegetation.”

Firefighters from the Santa Barbara and Montecito fire departments were battling the Dover Hill Road house fire. (Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo)

“The wind was blowing up here, and that could have been a much different story if it wasn't as clear around the house,” DePonce added. 

Police closed roads in the area while fire crews were at the scene.

Two residents were displaced due to the damage caused by the fire to the home, estimated at 2,500 square feet.

A building and utility official also were called to the scene. 

People attending at the Westmont College graduation in Montecito and from other locations around Santa Barbara could see the large plume of black smoke from the burning residence rising from the neighborhood.

Firefighters converged on a house in the 1300 block of Dover Hill Road just before 10 a.m. Saturday. (Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo)

At the same time, firefighters also battled a small vegetation fire on Loma Alta Drive on the Westside, with an investigator called to that scene. That incident appeared to be associated with a homeless encampment in the area. 

DePonce noted the joint efforts from the other fire agencies. 

“Going into wildland season, this just illustrates that it doesn't have to be a wildland fire that we work well together. It's structure fires, car accidents, everything,” DePonce said.

Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.