Sirens in Hawaii Warn of Possible Tsunami

(CNN) -- Sirens sounded early Saturday morning across Hawaii, warning people of a possible tsunami and telling people to in coastal areas to evacuate.

The sirens sounded at 6 a.m. local time (11 a.m. ET/1600 GMT) to warn of a potential tsunami triggered by a 8.8 earthquake in Chile.

The siren systems in each county are sounding to "to alert residents and visitors to evacuate coastal areas," Hawaii's Civil Defense Division said in a statement.

"Residents will be advised by their respective country civil defense or emergency management agencies to evacuate coastal areas."

The earliest estimated arrival for a wave that could affect Hawaii is 11:05 a.m. local time (4:05 p.m. ET/2105 GMT), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Director Charles McCreery said Hawaii would see some effect from the earthquake.

"We believe it will be a threat here in Hawaii, that's why we initiated a warning, not only for a Hawaii, but for the entire Pacific," McCreery said.

Asked by CNN affiliate KHON whether it was possible Hawaii wouldn't see any effect from the earthquake, McCreery said, "No, I wouldn't say that's possible at all. I think there's no chance we'll see no effect from this event.

"So people need to take this very seriously."

But he added, "We're not expecting this to be a worst-case scenario, but we are expecting ... dangerous waves coming on shore, and people need to take it very seriously."

Speaking of the evacuations, Shelly Ichishita, spokeswoman for the Civil Defense Division, said people in the evacuation zones -- basically coastal areas -- were "asked to go inland," she said. "We do not have evacuation shelters open."

John Cummings, Oahu Emergency Management Department spokesman, told The Honolulu Advertiser that "If you live anywhere in the evacuation zone, you have to evacuate.

"This is a serious event. We're going to treat this as a destructive-type tsunami."

The state's two U.S. senators, Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka, urged Hawaii residents to remain calm.

"If you live in an evacuation zone I urge you to gather your family and please leave the area," Inouye said.

"It is important to remain calm, listen to the news, and follow the instructions being issued by state and county civil defense officials."

Earlier Saturday, people rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food, water and other supplies.

"We got lots of water, we got our batteries, we got toilet paper," one woman told KITV, while she stood in a line with other shoppers and their carts stuffed with supplies.

Asked if she was scared, another shopper said, "Very, very. We're from Georgia, so ..."

Businesses in the area said they will be closed all day Saturday, the affiliate reported.

Several tsunami waves have come ashore along the Chilean coast after the earthquake, which killed at least 122 people, U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Victor Sardina told CNN.

He said the largest was recorded at 9 feet near the quake's epicenter. Another wave, 7.7 feet hit the Chilean town of Talcahuano, according to Eric Lau of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Video from the town showed one car sitting in a large expanse of water.

McCreery said the first tsunami wave would sweep across Hawaii in about 30 minutes.

"And then the hazard will go on for many hours, because these waves, they get reflected off the islands, they wrap around the islands, and it becomes a very complex wave field that persists for quite a while."

13,500 Flee Growing California Wildfire

Really getting serious over there.. =[

SANTA BARBARA, California (CNN) -- A wind-fanned wildfire spread across 1,300 acres in Santa Barbara County, California, early Thursday, forcing 13,500 residents to evacuate and destroying at least 20 homes.

The fire, strengthened by high temperatures and low humidity, engulfed mansions in the coastal community's foothills.

"It's just horrible. We're all in a panic here. It's terrifying," iReporter Exton Quinn said Thursday.

Quinn said she and a friend were out shooting video Wednesday night when "all of a sudden the wind changed and a house caught on fire just behind me," she said.
Watch fire roar on hillsides »

Her house, on the edge of the mandatory evacuation zone, hadn't burned, she said, but the artist and architect said she was concerned as she headed for Los Angeles on Thursday morning.

More than 1,400 firefighters are battling the blaze and 10 have been injured, Schwarzenegger said, lauding their efforts. Watch Gov. Schwarzenegger urge vigilance »

"Firefighters, thank you, thank you, thank you for your hard work," he said.
A day earlier, fire officials expressed how difficult it is to fight the blaze.

"The fire is moving very, very rapidly," Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. David Sadecki said Wednesday. "This is an uncontrolled wildfire."
"I have hundreds of paintings, so I would just lose everything," if her duplex did fall victim to the flames, she said.

About 5,400 homes have been evacuated and another 3,500 are threatened, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said at a news conference.

The blaze, which started Tuesday, came six months after the Tea Fire destroyed about 200 homes in the Santa Barbara area.

Though there was no official count on homes destroyed early Thursday, one firefighter said he saw 20 homes scorched.

Firefighting helicopters and aircraft as well as 177 engines were being used.

On Thursday morning, iReporter Adrian Casillas, a student at the University of California-Santa Barbara, said it felt more like evening.

"I'm looking out towards the east, and it's just a big cloud going from the coast all the way to the Channel Islands," he said of smoke from the fire.

"The sun is just rising, but it looks a little bit like sunset because the cloud is covering the sun," he said.

Wildfires also were burning in Arizona near the Mexican border.

One blaze covered about 4,000 acres near the city of Sierra Vista. It had destroyed three homes and sent an area resident to the hospital with third-degree burns, according to the National Forest Service.

Three other smaller fires in the area were largely or completely contained, fire officials said.