Tea Fire Students' School Identified

THE SCHOOL WHERE THE STUDENTS THAT ACCIDENTALLY STARTED the Tea Fire in Montecito, California a week ago has been identified.

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Yesterday the Santa Barbara Community College issued a statement affirming that the fire-starters are students at its campus. When the Santa Barbara County Sheriff announced the other day that 10 students of “a local college” had admitted that they had been burning the bonfire that started the disastrous wildfire, rumors started running and the nearby Westmont College became the prime speculation because of its proximity to the blaze. Westmont lost eight buildings plus 14 faculty homes to the fire.

After the SBCC issued its statement the sheriff’s office confirmed that 9 of the 10 individuals are students there. There have been no charges brought yet against the 10 persons involved, but local officials are still in the process of deciding their fate. If charged with negligence, the suspects could potentially be responsible for financial restitution for the damages, as well as the cost of fighting the fire which has run into the tens of millions of dollars. California has been aggressively pursuing damage costs against people who have started wildfires for the past few years.

Wednesday the Westmont College President Gayle Beebe sent out an email to its students and the press containing a disclaimer that any of its campus population had been involved in starting the fire:

1) Were any Westmont students involved in causing the fire?

No. On Wednesday afternoon at approximately 2:45 p.m., Drew Sugars, the public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office officially informed the college that no current Westmont students were present nor in anyway involved with this tragic incident.
We have been in regular contact with investigators since the fire and have been providing any information that might be helpful toward determining the exact cause of the fire. This is our responsibility as a community citizen. Our surrounding coastal region is home to many colleges and universities, and like all of them, we are awaiting new information.

It should be noted that at this point, the group of individuals responsible for starting the fire are under the jurisdiction of law enforcement authorities. Again, no current Westmont students were involved with this incident.

2) When will students and faculty be able to return to campus?

The campus will reopen Saturday, Nov. 29, at noon, and classes will restart Dec. 1. We are tirelessly working to clean up the campus and accommodate the entire campus population after the Thanksgiving holiday.

3) When will new information about the cause of the investigation be made available?

We have been informed by authorities that the investigation is still underway. It is important to resist the urge to speculate beyond what is currently known. Ultimately, the public needs to let the authorities do their job.

4) How is the college addressing rumors speculating about Westmont students?

Investigators have determined that no current Westmont students were involved in the fire. Any suggestions to the contrary are false and damaging.

Despite rumors and speculation on the Internet, our utmost priority throughout the investigation has been addressing the needs of our campus and the surrounding community. That means providing information requested by authorities, cleaning up the demolished sites on our campus in preparation for returning to the academic term, and generally being a good neighbor in a time of great need. Second, we are providing accurate information directly from investigators to our college community in as timely a manner as possible.

Ultimately, the findings of the investigation will be made public by authorities and the individuals responsible for the fire will enter the jurisdiction of the law. Until that point, I ask that each of you do your part by avoiding undue speculation and by communicating responsibly, as is reflected in our values and mission.