Santa Barbara Fire Flares Anew : Setback: An unexpected rise in temperatures and gusting winds hamper the fight to control the blaze. But full control is still expected today.

SANTA BARBARA —  Firefighters, hampered by an unexpected rise in temperatures and gusting winds, suffered a setback Monday in combating the stubborn blaze that has blackened 4,900 acres and destroyed more than 400 homes here, but said they still expected the fire to be under full control today.

Aided by cool, moist ocean breezes over the weekend, firefighters were able to surround the fire. But early Monday morning 35-m.p.h. gusts flared up without warning and temperatures climbed into the 80s.

“The crews are always dependent on the weather,” U.S. Forest Service spokesman Maeton Freel said. “If the cooler weather had held, everything would have gone as planned. We’ll still get control. It’ll just take a little longer.”

The sudden change in conditions and drop in humidity “caused some edginess” among the fire crews because “they didn’t expect it,” said Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Charles Johnson.

“We’re still confident about gaining control pretty soon,” said Susan Mockenhaupt, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service. “The hot spots are within the fire perimeter . . . so everything still looks pretty good out there.”

Damage from the fire was estimated by the U.S. Forest Service at about $500 million.

By Monday, more than 75 people had been cited for “sightseeing at the scene of an emergency,” a misdemeanor, after they were caught combing though the rubble in burned-out neighborhoods, said Tim Gracey, spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.

Gracey said most of the homes were leveled by the fire, “so there’s not a whole lot left to take. . . . But after losing a $500,000 house, the last thing I’d want is to find some yahoo looking through my rubble.”

The firefighters spent most of Monday battling two “stubborn hot spots,” Mockenhaupt said, both in rugged terrain, several miles from residential areas. In addition to the ground crews, helicopters continued to drop water and fire retardant on smoldering areas.

On Saturday night the fire was contained, which means a fire line around the blaze was completed. Control means that there are no flames within about 300 feet of the fire lines.

Meanwhile, in San Diego County, firefighters battling the Lake Henshaw blaze predicted it would be extinguished by 6 a.m. today. As of 1 p.m. Monday, it had been entirely contained and was 60% extinguished, said Audrey Hagan, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry. Authorities believe the blaze, like the Santa Barbara fire, was set by an arsonist. Officials in both areas have offered rewards for any information leading to an arrest.

Just as firefighters were taming the Lake Henshaw fire that has raged since last Thursday, 330 of them were called out to battle a new fire just north of Lake Wohlford, east of Escondido. Hagan said the fire started at 2:45 p.m. and had engulfed 100 acres by 4:30 p.m.