More than 200 homes have been destroyed in the Tea Fire, officials said Saturday afternoon, hours after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured ravaged neighborhoods, saying afterward “it looked like hell.”

The governor was joined by Cal Fire Director Ruben Grijalva and local officials for this morning’s visit to Santa Barbara and Montecito.

Schwarzenegger noted that he and his family often visit the Santa Barbara area — and recently purchased property nearby — “because we think it's the most beautiful area in the world. There's just nothing like it.

“But when you walk around the areas that were devastated, it looked like hell today,” Schwarzenegger said. “And I tell you, I feel horrible for the people that have been affected by that, whose homes burned down and losing all their personal belongings and now having to rebuild their homes. I mean, there is tremendous loss there.”

Aided by improved weather, fire officials today are reporting significant progress in subduing the Tea Fire. wildfire that has been ravaging foothill areas above Montecito and Santa Barbara, with containment now estimated at 40 percent.

On Saturday afternoon, officials put the number of residences destroyed at 130 in the city of Santa Barbara, and 80 in Montecito.

Officials are compiling a list, which they expect to release later today, of homes and structures destroyed and damaged in the fire.

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Mid-day Saturday, officials eased evacuation orders, estimating it would allow about 1,000 people to return to their homes.

The modification that trimmed evacuation areas includes:

— Ashley Road and all roads east of Ashley Road;

— Mission Canyon below Tunnel Road. (Mission Canyon north of Tunnel Road remains closed);

— Alameda Padre Serra (APS) west of Arboledo to Mission. (All roads north of APS between Arboledo and 5 Points remain closed.)

— Eucalyptus Hill Road and all other adjacent access roads.

APS east from 5 points to Barker Pass is closed; but residents of Overlook Lane are permitted in with proper identification. Also, Barker Pass Road between Eucalyptus Hill Road and Sycamore Canyon will remain closed.

All other mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect, they emphasized.

Officials urged evacuated residents to remain patient, with Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown saying the area is “essentially like a combat zone in there.”

It might be “days away” before people can re-enter the burned neighborhoods, he added.

Additionally, gas fires at burned homes and downed power lines must be handled before people safely can re-enter the neighborhoods, officials said.

“We understand the frustration and desire of people to get out of hotels, or friends or shelters, but it’s still a critical situation,” Brown said during an afternoon briefing. “We still have many, many areas that are still unsafe, and there are still active fire suppression operations going on to the north of this area.”

Some 1,800 acres have been charred in the blaze, which began Thursday night and was pumped into an inferno by winds gusting as high as 70 mph.

Winds Friday and overnight were much calmer, allowing a firefighting forcing totaling 2,235 people to begin corralling the fire.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that wind conditions will remain cooperative today,” said Andrew Burmond, a spokesman with the city of Santa Barbara.

There is no estimate of when the fire will be fully contained, he said.

“This is an urban fire, and containment is a tricky thing,” Burmond said, noting that fire lines are more difficult to build in an urban environment than in a wildland blaze.

No cause has been identified for the blaze, which broke out near Mountain Drive and Cold Springs Road, north of Westmont College, which suffered damage to several buildings and lost 14 faculty homes.

Suppression costs thus far have been pegged at $3.5 million, a number surely to rise significantly in the days ahead.

The severe water shortage linked to the Montecito fire has eased, thanks in part to local conservation efforts, officials said Saturday.

Montecito Water District reported on Friday afternoon that water storage levels for reservoirs in the fire area were less than 10 percent.

“Due to the restoration of a key pump station on Friday and the conservation efforts of our community, reservoir water storage levels within the burn area which includes Sycamore Canyon Road west to the city of Santa Barbara boundary, have increased to about 37 percent,” officials said in a written statement Saturday. “We ask that you continue to use water sparingly at this time within the area under previous evacuation orders. Without any further extraordinary demands on water supplies, the district expects to have reservoir water levels restored to normal conditions by Monday morning.”

Some customers on East Mountain and West Mountain Drive, west of Cold Springs Road, experienced a low-pressure condition due to the low reservoir water levels. The water agency advised that, if any discoloration is noticed, those customers should flush their service lines by running hot and cold water until it looks clear again.