Santa Barbara wildfire

Towering palm trees explode as flames jump across Highway 154 near Santa Barbara, Calif., early Friday, May 8.

A helicopter prepares to drop water into Rattlesnake Canyon near Santa Barbara on Thursday.

Dan Fernandez carries belongings to an evacuation center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, on Friday. He and his family took shelter there after being forced from their home late Thursday.

The wildfire destruction included this car Thursday. The blaze was so hot it melted aluminum components.

Crews climb down a steep canyon to put out a hot spot Thursday.

Robyn Richard and Ana Pierpont, seniors at University of California at Santa Barbara, serve home made cupcakes Thursday to Los Angeles firefighters taking a break at the Santa Barbara Mission.

The pool was all that was left of a home destroyed in the foothills of Santa Barbara.

Nancy Cook, right, and Chris Anderson pass the historic Santa Barbara Mission on Thursday. Cook fled her home but returned briefly to pick up family heirlooms and a business suit for a job interview on Monday.

Firefighters on Thursday, May 7, put out hotspots in the rubble of a house that burned in the foothills of Santa Barbara, Calif.

Smoke from the wildfire hangs over the Santa Barbara area on Wednesday. This view is looking south on US 101 traffic in Goleta.

Firefighters battle the blaze Wednesday as 50 mph wind gusts fanned the blaze.

The wildfire burns close to homes in the hills off San Roque Road in Santa Barbara on Wednesday.

A firefighter tries to save a house burning Wednesday.

Flames engulf a house.

Salinas Fire Department firefighters watch over a home as it burns in Santa Barbara.

A large smoke cloud shrouds the Santa Barbara Mission building as residents evacuate.

A helicopter dumps water onto flames as the Jesusita Fire burns some houses and threatens others.

Residents watch burning homes and flames in the foothills.

A water tanker drops fire retardant in the foothills above Santa Barbara.

Dan David packs his belongings into a car as he prepares to evacuate his home in Santa Barbara on Tuesday.

The wildfire devours mansions and homes.

A Montecito firefighter surveys the property of a threatened home on Jesusita Lane, as the wildfire approaches. The blaze forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 homes as more than 400 acres of brush burned in Santa Barbara.