Despite the recent cancellation of Santa Barbara City College classes due to the fire, Westmont College’s baccalaureate will still take place there at 5 p.m. today, and commencement ceremonies are still on for tomorrow morning, both events to take place La Playa Stadium.
Reality Carpinteria, a church located at 5251 6th Street in Carp, has offered its space as a temporary shelter for students without another place to go, said Westmont spokesperson Scott Craig. The campus is under mandatory evacuation. Although staff and faculty were not allowed onto campus this morning, those already there are helping students and their families get off campus by the noon deadline.
The Las Barrancas neighborhood, where many Westmont faculty and staff live, and which lost 14 homes in November’s Tea Fire, is also under mandatory evacuation. So far, no homes have been lost to the Jesusita Fire in that neighborhood.