Since the middle of the twentieth century, several destructive fires have affected Santa Barbara: the 1964 Coyote Fire, which burned 67,000 acres (270 km2) of backcountry along with 106 homes; the smaller, but quickly moving, Sycamore Fire in 1977, which burned 200 homes; the disastrous 1990 Painted Cave Fire, which incinerated over 500 homes in only several hours, during an intense Sundowner wind event; the November 2008 Tea Fire, which destroyed 210 homes in the foothills of Santa Barbara and Montecito; and the 2009 Jesusita Fire that burned 8,733 acres (35.34 km2) and destroyed 160 homes above the San Roque region of Santa Barbara.

The Thomas Fire burned from its origins in Santa Paula 60 miles (100 km) to the east of Santa Barbara and consumed 281,893 acres (1,140.78 km2) in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, most of which consisted of rural land and wilderness areas. The fire started December 4, 2017, and was 100% contained by January 12, 2018. 1,050 structures were lost in the Thomas Fire, mostly east of Santa Barbara in Ventura County. The Thomas Fire has been the largest Santa Barbara County fire ever recorded to date.
Please provide a bulleted list of the wildfire history that have affected the Santa Barbara area.
- 1964 Coyote Fire: Destroyed 106 structures and burned 67,000 acres
- 1977 Sycamore Fire: Destroyed 200 structures
- 1990 Painted Cave Fire: Destroyed 500 structures
- 2008 Tea Fire: Destroyed 210 structures
- 2009 Jesusita Fire: Destroyed 160 structures and burned 8,733 acres
- 2017 Thomas Fire: Destroyed 1,050 structures and burned 281,893 acres