Share your thoughts on the Montecito wildfire

The Montecito wildfire, which began Thursday night, has destroyed more than 100 homes and burned 2,500+ acres in Santa Barbara County.  Share your thoughts here.

Photo: Reed Saxon/AP

Comments

[George W.]

These rich people and many are celebrities have 6 other homes to go to. It's no loss to them. Losing a multimillion dollar home is nothing but a drop in the bucket.

[Shane]

I am very sorry for the people who lost their homes. The fire looked awful. But I am annoyed at local news stations who continually mention how many MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dollars these houses are worth, as if we're supposed to care more because the houses are expensive.

[Kendall Maritn]

The homes being burned are NOT in Montecito, but mostly just above downtown Santa Barbara. There are a lot of horse farms and very old, historic homes that are being threatened. They are owned by people that have live in SB for decades, not by the stars that have invaded in the past decade. Please know what you are talking about before you post and look like an idiot!

[Brittany]

Thank you Kendall. For the homes that ARE being burnt and destroyed in Montecito, MOST are not multi-million dollar homes, but those of average working people who do not have "6 other homes" to go to! They've lost everything, my family included. This is a horrible tragedy and a devastating loss. Yes, multi-million dollar homes may have been lost in the fire, but for the most part all of the homes that have been destroyed could be classified as million dollar homes for the history they may hold, or the views they may have once enjoyed. I'm sure the media isn't helping the issue, but everyone needs to remember that these people are just like everyone else suffering a loss, and they should be treated as such.

[August]

300,000 veterans ARE STILL ON THE SREETS or IN YOU SICK & NASTY HORIFYING SHELTERS, this is nothing!

[char]

I am a homeowner in Malibu and we suffer here from the same perceptions as people in Santa Barbara. Most who lost homes here last year were middle-class owners who were terrible underinsured. Teachers, lifeguards, landscapers etc.
all lost homes. Many had to leave and suffer the loss. I urge everyone reading this to examine your fire policy. I found that mine was woefully low and I made the proper adustment.

[Anne]

Remember for every home that is destroyed whether it be by fire, hurricane et al, the insurance companies pay for the losses. When your insurance rates go up, someone has to pay eventually to cover the costs of all the payouts.

[Nick]

Did I miss it, or is there in fact no mention in the LAT report about, or any pictures of, the total destruction of Mount Calvary Monastery? Or is that not as important as the massive homes of the wealthy and the celebrities who may have lost homes? It wouldn't surprise me, given the slavish attention the LAT gives to celebrity "news."

[MilkaJunkies]

Thank you for providing information, you have given me great help.

[Anita Frankel]

HELLO, Los Angeles Times -- If it's true that middle-class as well as "rich" people are losing their homes, then the reporting here distorted the story of the fire. When you turn your front page over to KTLA, it's great for the visuals, but KTLA reporters on the story can and do fan the flames of ignorance, so to speak. I hold the TIMES as responsible as I do KTLA. Readers deserve an apology and a correction.
-Anita Frankel
Los Angeles

[Buddy Kikmart]

It would be nice if the press could get the story straight. As a long time resident/native of Santa Barbara I recall the Sycamore Fire of 1977 and the impact it had on Santa Barbara. This current fire is in the same vicinity. It was called a Santa Barbara wildfire. This Montecito fire might have started on the far west side of Montecito but the worst has impacted Santa Barbara County and the city as the flames move westward. If you want to inform people of the catastrophe quit talking about how close it is to Oprah's house and the wealthy and let the world know how it impacts the average resident.

[Charles O]

Someone in the media and the government/law enforcement must look into this. It is obvious that these fires are definitely arson, and that they are well-planned, taking advantage of terrain and conditions. Look closely at the OC fire, it started south, as the fire moved north, another fire was started linking two fire into one giant fire. These are not the work of thrill-seeking kids. These are planned attacks on the people of the United States designed to inflict maximum economic destruction and social upheaval. This is precisely the goal of Al-Qaeda: Economic and psychological warfare against the US. The use of wildfire is simply another devious/cowardly tool of the terrorist. I am no big subscriber to conspiracy theories, but I am pretty sure that the cause of these "Santa Ana" fires are and will be much deeper than one thinks.

[mddesighomes]

Over the last few days I have read many opinions about the fires in Southern California, and some individuals feel the rich don’t deserve compassion or sympathy since they have “multiple homes” and are “rich”. First of all, it must be clear that to have compassion and feel sorry is not the same. You can feel compassion for the memories that were lost in the burnt homes that cannot be recovered, such as a baby was born in that house, or maybe they raised their children in the home that burnt down. Think of the markings on the door jam for each year of age for a given child has grown, or the nicks in the kitchen drawers because their kids played drums on the drawers while putting the knives away. Every house acquires its own memories no matter how many homes you have or don’t have, when it burns down you cannot recover those memories.

When I walk through a big city like San Francisco I see all of the homeless people on the street asking with humility for help, and people walk by them as if they are invisible. Some people feel they do not serve compassion as the homeless man or woman must have done something to put themselves in such a position. If someone asked the homeless person what happened, you might find most are homeless because of a lost job, or a spouse died and the surviving spouse couldn’t do it alone. You would find that chances are there was no other option for them, and you might just find that there were homeless people displaced in the areas that burnt in the fires, and they must find a new place to be homeless at.

To here such disdain about the rich or poor is troubling to me as we all are God’s children, we are all brothers and sisters, we are all dependant on our community to stand in unity as one in a disaster. Have we forgotten 911 and how it brought us together? Have we forgotten how precious life can be? What would you do if put in a position of any kind of loss? Would you feel hurt if no one cared about you?

Give the rich a break because they have multiple houses, they still built memories in those houses. Remember the rich like Opera and other stars in the area donate enormous amounts of money to the poor, and volunteer their time to help the less fortunate. When you walk by a homeless person, try a little compassion you might someday need some yourself.