[10] The following day, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office investigators announced that the fire was caused by a group of ten men and women, age 18 to 22, college students, who went to the abandoned Tea House on the night of Wednesday, November 12, and held a bonfire party at the location, through the early morning hours of Thursday, November 13.

Although the individuals were found guilty of trespassing and holding an illegal bonfire, the DA's office felt there was not enough evidence to convict them of starting the blaze.

"[13] Santa Barbara County officials stated that they had reports of 13 persons injured, including 10 who were treated for smoke inhalation and three with burn injuries, one of whom was critical.

Information on this foundation including benefits and donations can be found on Facebook's group "Tea Fire Survivors: Lance and Karla Hoffman".

(Rob Lowe, November 14, 2008) The Tea Fire resulted in the destruction of 210 homes in Montecito and Santa Barbara.

One of the homes destroyed in the fire belonged to actor Christopher Lloyd (best known for playing "Doc" Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy).

[20] With the recovery phase initiated over the weekend, faculty and staff were allowed back on campus November 17, but the school was scheduled to remain closed to students until December 1.

[21] The Mount Calvary Retreat House and Monastery in Santa Barbara, part of the Order of the Holy Cross, was also destroyed.

[24] Schwarzenegger issued a statement that he was "making all state resources available to the fire commanders and was requesting assistance from the federal government as well.