Santa Barbara residents allowed to return

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 9 (UPI) -- Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday for thousands of residents of Santa Barbara County as firefighters began to contain a Southern California wildfire.

Winds died down Saturday and a light drizzle dampened the area, aiding firefighters, The Los Angeles Times reported. The Jesusita fire was declared 30 percent contained Saturday morning.

The fire, first reported Tuesday, was spread by shifting sundowner winds. The fire had spread over 8,500 acres and destroyed or heavily damaged 80 houses, officials said.

On Friday, 30,500 people were subject to mandatory evacuation orders. Those remained in place for a few people Saturday.

State and local governments have spent $3.2 million to deploy 3,455 firefighting personnel along with hundreds of engines, more than a dozen air tankers and 15 helicopters to extinguish the blaze. The fire was only 10 percent contained by late Friday evening, officials said, as firefighters feared Santa Barbara's notorious sundowner winds would push the blaze down the mountain, the Times said.

Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Tom Franklin told CNN changing weather patterns have exerted a "roller coaster effect" on the Jesusita fire, saying, "It starts off, looks kind of calm, thinking we're getting the upper hand, turns out we're not. As unpredictable as the weather can be, that's about as unpredictable as the fire is going to be."