Even as water-dropping aircraft dip into low reservoirs in the Santa Barbara area, residents have been asked to cut their water use to near-zero. Wash your face and brush your teeth is what the request boils down to. From Bloomberg:

Efforts to battle the blaze have also put a strain on the region's water supply, and residents are urged to curb their usage, the Montecito Fire Department said in a statement.

"Water reservoirs have dropped to critically low levels,'' the statement said.

Evacuation info on the Montecito FD's page, and SB County's fire info page.

Here's a great first person account of the fire on LAist from Ken Layne.

Shelby Grad writes on LA Now about the treacherous Sundowner winds that fed the fire.

Meanwhile, TJ Sullivan notices that the Ventura County Star, which in its heyday would have owned this story, is running AP wire.

--Veronique de Turenne