Firefighters responded to reports of a couch “fully engulfed” in flames on the mid-6600 block of Del Playa Drive in Isla Vista early Saturday morning.
The call came in around 12:23 a.m. The flames were approximately seven feet tall and were “blocking a residence,” according to the police scanner.
The fire was put out by 12:38 a.m.
Reports of a second couch fire, located at the intersection of Camino Pescadero and Segovia Road, came in around 1:31 a.m. The fire was put out shortly after.
Reports of a third fire – a dumpster fire near 6730 Pasado Road – came in at 1:47 a.m.
Couch burnings have become somewhat of a tradition in I.V. as the school year comes to a close.
I.V. last saw a series of couch burnings during the Thomas Fire that swept through Santa Barbara County in December 2017, when I.V. residents took to the streets to burn two couches and set off fireworks during an ongoing power outage.
Jorge Mercado contributed reporting.
Updated [1:35 a.m.]
Updated [1:53 a.m.]
Arson “somewhat of a tradition”? Get a grip. Someday, that will backfire, then a lot of handwringing…
I had a roommate who was arrested for setting a chair on fire back in 1999.
F*cking idiots…