A fierce wildfire raged on north of Los Angeles Sunday, threatening other towns after already charring vast swaths of land, but other blazes were largely contained after burning for days.
The so-called Thomas fire is only 15 percent contained, now threatening the city of Santa Barbara and the nearby coastal town of Carpinteria, and is on track to become one of the worst wildfires in California history. It has already destroyed 600 structures and scorched 173,000 acres (70,000 hectares), the authorities say.
"Praying for my town. Fires closing in. Firefighters making brave stands. Could go either way. Packing to evacuate now," actor Rob Lowe, who lives in Santa Barbara, wrote on Twitter.
A photo posted by Santa Barbara police on Sunday morning showed a wall of flames several yards (meters) high very close to buildings in Carpinteria.
Evacuation orders were issued overnight for some parts of Carpinteria close to Los Padres National Forest, where fire was raging.
Conditions remained very dry in southern California, according to the National Weather Service, but strong winds that have fueled the fires for much of the week have eased significantly.
It said "critical fire weather conditions will wane Sunday night" but that dangers would persist through most of the coming week.
"Firefighters continue to improve and increase the containment lines," helped by the weather, said the state agency Calfire.
At least five other blazes in southern California are now largely contained, Calfire said.
After a five-day siege, some Californians were finally able to return home to inspect the damage wrought by the wildfires, which together have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee and destroyed more than 850 structures, including multimillion-dollar mansions.
The week's infernos capped California's deadliest year ever for wildfires. More than 40 people died in October when fires swept through the state's wine-producing counties north of San Francisco.
California Wildfires: Santa Barbara Orders Mandatory Evacuations, Celebrity Homes Threatened— Update
UPDATE 5:44 PM PST Dec. 10: As the Thomas fire spreads in Carpinteria and Montecito, the city of Santa Barbara has ordered an evacuation in the area from Mission Canyon Rd. to Hot Springs Rd. and SR 192 to East Camino Cielo.
There has been an evacuation warning for the area from SR 192 at SR 154, North on SR 154 to E. Camino Cielo, East to Mission Canyon Rd. and SR 192 North to E. Camino Cielo.
The mandatory evacuation of City of Ventura’s City Hall at 501 and 505 Poli St. and the streets located directly around City Hall including Poli Alley Way and Poli St. has lifted. Also lifted is the mandatory evacuation for the Poinsettia Pavilion at 3451 Foothill Rd.
Firefighters have been fending off the blaze, which has engulfed nearly 200,000 acres today alone and has grown 25,000 acres during the day.
Santa Barbara County has posted a detailed map of mandatory evacuations zones on their Twitter account (seen below).
Earlier today, Rob Lowe tweeted, “Praying for my town” as he evacuated as the fires closed in. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, also tweeted earlier that her house was in danger, has been posting updates on her Twitter account. Most recently, she expressed her gratitude for the community and the firefighters.
“Everyone in the Montecito area is checking up on each other and helping to get people and animals to safety,” said DeGeneres. “I’m proud to be a part of this community. I’m sending lots of love and gratitude to the fire department and sheriffs. Thank you all. #ThomasFire”
Praying for my town. Fires closing in. Firefighters making brave stands. Could go either way. Packing to evacuate now.
The area’s low humidity backed by gusting Santa Ana winds pushed the fire overnight from Ventura County into Santa Barbara County. The winds have escalated fires throughout the state, gusting up to 35 mph, according to fire officials.
Carpinteria is in the most danger. The current fire is burning in very dry vegetation, according to Steve Swindle, spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. The area is estimated not to have burned in nearly 100 years.
Teams of firefighters are being deployed throughout Carpinteria to head off any flames that cross existing fire lines. Some 85,000 customers in the area are currently without power.
The Thomas fire is currently the most problematic of the six wildfires burning in Southern California. Officials reported progress on containing the others. The Thomas fire is about 15 percent contained as of mid-day Sunday.
In Los Angeles County, firefighters continued to battle fires in Sylmar, Santa Clarita and Bel-Air. The Skirball fire near celebrity haven Bel-Air was 75% contained.
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