Hope Ranch Fire Kills One

A fire at a Hope Ranch home over the weekend killed an elderly woman, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. The department responded to a fire at 1480 Cantera Avenue at 8:26 p.m. Saturday, arriving to find a “well-involved structure fire at the location that had fire already burning through the roof and several windows,” Capt. Eli Iskow said.

Two additional engine companies were called, and the first responding firefighters began a search-and-rescue. A team searching the first floor of the large, two-story residence found a woman unconscious, and not breathing. They brought her outside and began trying to resuscitate the woman, who didn’t have a pulse. Resuscitation efforts failed, and she was declared dead at the scene.

The fire was knocked down in about 30 minutes, but crews remained on-scene through much of the night for extensive mop-up duty. A neighboring home was not damaged by the fire, which fire officials estimate caused more than $1 million in damage to the home. Two other occupants of the home were not in the home at the time, and there were no other injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.