California wildfire

A wildfire has engulfed at least 70 homes in Montecito, an exclusive enclave near Santa Barbara, California in the US and forced thousands of people to flee.



The fire, which began yesterday and was fanned by high winds, reportedly spread to 800 acres within hours.



Celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe, Michael Douglas and John Cleese are among Montecito\'s wealthy homeowners.



A spokeswoman for Santa Barbara County said about 5,400 of the community\'s 14,000 residents had been evacuated.



Hundreds of students at Montecito\'s Westmont College had to sleep in a gym building after their dormitory, as well as several other campus buildings, were affected by the blaze.