Wind gusts that helped push a massive wildfire into Santa Barbara County this weekend were growing weaker Monday, but authorities say the week-old Thomas fire still threatens the coastal enclaves of Carpinteria, Summerland and Montecito.
After watching the fire race west over the Ventura County line and explode to 230,500 acres overnight, firefighters struggled to increase overall containment to 15%. In some areas, the fire burned so fiercely that it left behind a barren and blackened moonscape, firefighters said.
On Monday morning, fire crews prepared to defend structures in the foothills north of Carpinteria and surrounding communities from a wall of flames.
The unique east-west orientation of area mountain ranges, along with narrow winding roads, make it very difficult for firefighters to battle the fire’s western flank head-on, officials said. Instead, crews headed to the residential streets in the south-facing foothills to set up defensive positions.
“The terrain … makes it super-difficult for us to position with normal tactics,” said Kalin Ramirez, a fire information officer.
While crews stage in town to protect homes, a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft will attack flames higher up in the mountains and try to douse the fire directly, Ramirez said.
A reduction in winds Monday was lending a hand to some firefighters.
“Wind was probably not the biggest factor last night to this morning — it’s probably more the complex terrain, very dry and possibly widespread fuels for the fire and the fact that it’s a pretty large and ongoing fire,” said Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
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John Bain and Brandon Baker try to stop a fire from burning a stranger’s home in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 2/73
A brush fire moving with the wind sends embers all over residential neighborhoods north of Ventura.
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A family packs up and evacuates as a brush fire gets closer to their home in Ventura.
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John Bain and his friends, all from Camarillo, came to help as brush fires move quickly through residential neighborhoods in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 5/73
Strangers band together to help put out a palm tree on fire and stop it from burning homes.
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The Hawaiian Gardens apartments burn in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times) 7/73
Residents help with the fire attack on Buena Vista Street in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times) 8/73
Residents watch the Thomas fire on Prospect Street in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times) 9/73
Firefighters are deployed to battle the fire in a Ventura neighborhood.
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A chimney is all that stands of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
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Remnants of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
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A home burns on a hillside overlooking Ventura.
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Palms are consumed in the Thomas fire.
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Emma Jacobson, 19, center, gets a hug from a neighbor after her family home was destroyed by fire in Ventura.
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Olivia Jacobson, 16, wipes tears as she looks at her family’s home, destroyed by the brush fire on Island View Drive in Ventura.
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Aerial view of the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 17/73
Noah Alarcon carries a cage with the family cat while evacuating from Casitas Springs.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times) 18/73
Smoke from the Thomas fire crosses over Lake Casitas near Ojai.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times) 19/73
A Ventura County firefighter battles a blaze on Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 20/73
Ventura County Firefighter Aaron Cohen catches his breath after fighting to save homes along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 21/73
Aerial view of homes burned to the ground in the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times ) 22/73
A home between Via Baja and Foothill Road burns in Ventura.
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Amanda Leon and husband Johnny Leon watch as firefighters fight to save homes along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 24/73
Chino Valley firefighters fight to save a home along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 25/73
Embers continue to burn at sunset Tuesday in a home on Ridgecrest Court at Scenic Way in the Clearpoint neighborhood of Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles TImes) 26/73
A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 27/73
Firefighters try to protect homes from the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 28/73
A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
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Edward Aguilar runs through the flames of the Thomas Fire to save his cats at his mobile home along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs in Ventura County.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 30/73
Jeff Lipscomb, left, Gabriel Lipscomb, 17, center, and Rachel Lipscomb, 11, look for items to recover from their burned home in Ventura.
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A traffic collision temporarily clogged lanes on the northbound 101 Freeway between Solimar and Faria Beaches as the Thomas fire burned in the hills.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 32/73
The Thomas fire burns towards the 101 Freeway and homes between Solimar and Faria Beaches.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 33/73
Fire personnel keep an eye on the Thomas fire on Toland Road near Santa Paula.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times) 34/73
A train on the Rincon coast passes a burning hillside from the Thomas fire.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times) 35/73
The Thomas fire burns along the 101 Freeway north of Ventura on Wednesday evening.
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire in the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
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A resident cries as the Thomas fire approaches the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 38/73
Burned palm trees are left standing between the 101 Freeway and Faria Beach as the Thomas fire reaches the Pacific Ocean.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 39/73
Firefighters battle Thursday to protect the resort city of Ojai from encroaching flames.
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Casey Rodriquez helps a friend move belongings after the Thomas Fire destroyed most of an apartment building on North Kalarama in Ventura.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 41/73
A burnt-out bus near Maripoca Highway.
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The Thomas fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai.
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A huge plume of smoke rises north of Ventura as seen Sunday afternoon from the Ventura pier, as the Thomas fire threatens parts of Carpenteria and Montecito.
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The Thomas Fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai, Calif. on Friday.
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Residents react as they watch the Thomas Fire burn in the hills above La Conchita at 5 am Thursday moning.
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Mary McEwen and husband Dan Bellaart prepare to evacuate their home on Toro Canyon Road in Montecito as the Thomas fire burns.
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Carpenteria resident Chris Gayner, right, photographs a plane in the hills of Carpenteria.
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From left, residents Michael Desjardins, his neighbor Patty Rodriguez, daughter Mikayla, wife Veronica, mother in law Amanda Buzin, and son Mikey keep an eye on the Thomas fire in Carpenteria.
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Mary McEwen cheers as she sees fire crews make their way up a hill past her home on Toro Canyon Rd. in Montecito.
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Dan Bellaart and wife Mary McEwen comfort each other in the backyard of their home that includes an avocado ranch on 9 acres of land on Toro Canyon Road in Montecito, as the Thomas fire burns in the background.
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Carpinteria resident Jay Molnar, 55, mouth and nose protected against the smoke, views flames glowing in the hills above the city on Dec. 11, 2017.
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Sacramento firefighters battle a blaze in Toro Canyon in Carpenteria at dusk Tuesday.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 53/73
Josh Acosta, superintendent with Fulton Hotshots looks for ways to fight fire consuming a structure threatening two homes high up Toro Canyon in Carpenteria at dusk Tuesday.
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A motorcade passes on tHighway 126 carrying the body of a Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson, who died Thursday morning while battling the Thomas Fire.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 55/73
Santa Paula City officials, Police and Firefighters salute from a bridge as a motorcade passes on the Santa Paula Freeway 126 carrying the body of a Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 56/73
Forest Service crews cut and clear dense brush for contingency lines off of East Camino Cielo in the Santa Ynez Mountains above Montecito and Santa Barbara to help stop the Thomas fire from advancing.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 57/73
A hotshot crew from Ojai marches towards their assignment to protect structures on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
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Firefighters monitor the flames Saturday from a staging area near Parma Park in Montecito.
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Flames slowly make their way down a valley behind a home in Montecito.
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Flames whip around power lines as they move through Sycamore Canyon on Saturday, threatening structures in Montecito.
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Smoke billows over Santa Barbara as the Thomas Fire continues to threaten the area on Saturday.
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Bill Shubin, deputy fire chief of the Santa Rosa Fire Department checks on flames burning near homes north of East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
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A fire truck pulls responds to fires burning near homes on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
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Brian Good, from US Forest Service, leans forward against the wind, and holds up a Kestrel to measure wind speeds up to 50 mph on Gibraltar Road in Montecito.
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A plume of smoke moves south as winds as high as 50 mph blow down Gibraltar Road on the west fork of Cold Spring Trail in Montecito.
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Flames and a big plume of smoke threaten homes on Gibraltar Road near Gibraltar Rock, outside Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 67/73
The sun rises as fire crews prepare for another day of fighting the Thomas Fire, in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 68/73
An aircraft makes a water drop over a hot spot up in the mountain range at Gibraltar Rock near Montecito, Calif. on Sunday.
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Humboldt County firefighters Bobby Gray, left, hoses down smoldering flames inside a destroyed home, as Kellee Stoehr, right looks on, after the Thomas Fire burned in Montecito, Calif. on Sunday.
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A home on Park Hill Lane was destroyed by the Thomas fire in Montecito, Calif.
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Humboldt County firefighters Lonnie Risling, left, and Jimmy McHaffie, right, spray down smoldering fire underneath the rubble of a home that was destroyed by the Thomas Fire, in Montecito, Calif., Sunday.
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Fire crews help the Behrman family retrieve their family’s personal belongings out of their burned home, in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday.
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In the foreground of the ridges that were burned by the Thomas Fire, Rusty Smith stands outside his home that survived the flames that were kicked up by Saturday’s wind event and threatened his home in Flores Flats on Gibraltar Road, near Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) The fire is in the top five of California’s largest modern fires. On Sunday, it had surged into the Santa Barbara County foothills, forcing evacuations in the coastal communities of Carpinteria and Montecito.
Smoke from the fire has formed a towering pyrocumulus cloud that is capable of creating its own weather and sudden wind shifts, experts say. The fire has also spread ash and particulate across the region, creating unhealthy air quality from Santa Barbara to Bakersfield.
The smoke has also contributed to hazardous driving conditions by limiting visibility.
“If driving in smoky areas, keep windows rolled up and vents closed,” urged Santa Barbara County’s Twitter account. “If you need air conditioning, make sure you set your system on re-circulate …”
As the fire grew Sunday, containment had dropped from 15% to 10%, authorities said. By Sunday evening, the blaze had scorched 230,000 acres. At least one firefighter was injured during the battle when he fractured his lower leg. The Redding firefighter is in good spirits and is returning home, the Redding Fire Department said in a statement Monday.
The number of structures destroyed stands at 798, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Wind speeds are expected to be on the lower end of what’s been seen over the last week, forecasters say.
Over Sunday night and into Monday morning, there were wind gusts of around 20 mph across the lower mountains and foothills in the region of southeastern Santa Barbara County into southwestern Ventura County.
Firefighters are taking advantage of a break in the wind in the Carpinteria area, said Capt. Dave Zaniboni, public information officer for Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
“The onshore breeze is actually keeping the fire up where we want to keep it, up in the foothills and not down into the populated areas,” Zaniboni said. “Our plan is to take advantage of this weather with aircraft as much as we can … here in Santa Barbara we had the threat early yesterday morning, where we lost a couple of homes in the Carpinteria foothills. This area, we’ve gotten a huge break.”
There are water-carrying helicopters making continuous drops and hand crews and dozers going directly on the fire line, he said. Stronger winds are expected in the afternoon, although nothing like before.
There have been an estimated 7,200 orders of evacuation for individuals and 34,000 warnings — telling residents to be prepared — in Santa Barbara city areas, according to the county’s Office of Emergency Management.
“The plan for today is to go direct on the fire line wherever we can and take advantage of the minimal wind,” Zaniboni said. “We’re just plugging away and working real hard at it and trying to keep it from burning even more homes and trying to put this thing out so we can all have Christmas.”
Celebrities have found their homes in the wealthy enclave of Montecito under threat. Montecito is home to celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe.
Winfrey tweeted: “Peace be Still, is my prayer tonight. For all the fires raging thru my community and beyond. #peacebestill”
Lowe also took to Twitter Sunday, stating that the fires were closing in with “firefighters making brave stands.”
“Could go either way. Packing to evacuate now,” he said.
Both Winfrey and Lowe have been through at least one fire in the area before. In 2008, Lowe described embers raining down.
“It was absolutely Armageddon,” he said at the time.
Ellen DeGeneres, who also took to Twitter on Sunday, said her house was under threat of being burned and that their pets had to be evacuated.
“Everyone in the Montecito area is checking up on each other and helping to get people and animals to safety,” DeGeneres tweeted. “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”
Montecito looked almost like a ghost town Monday, with a only a scattering of residents remaining. Tke sky was a grey haze and the acrid air stung the throat.
Cal Fire Fresno-Kings Battalion Chief Roger Raines and his platoon of more than a dozen trucks and water tenders were on hand, however. It was their job to assess how vulnerable the homes north of the highway between San Ysidro Road and Park Lane were to the incoming fire.
Firefighters in Montecito were going door to door to see who did, or did not, evacuate; which homes had water sources; which had good clearance between their property and the forest; and if the homes appeared to be defendable should the Thomas fire bear down on the community.
The Thomas fire isn’t the worst Raines has seen — he was up in Napa County just two months ago for the wine country fires — but it was unusual.
“Its December,” he said. “This doesn’t happen in December.”
Meteorologist Munroe said the strongest winds are expected more toward the Ventura-Los Angeles County line.
“Even that is not expected to be particularly strong, but since it’s so dry out there it doesn’t take much in the way of winds to create those critical fire weather conditions,” he said. “We’ll see wind gusts in that ... area between 20 and 35 mph, maybe a few mountain sites might see up to about 40, but that’s the most we’re expecting right now.”
The winds near the Thomas fire might be a little bit stronger from the north later on Monday night into early Tuesday morning, Munroe said, possibly 5 mph stronger.
“Right now it doesn’t look too terribly strong, but really any increase in wind is something to watch out for given this fire’s history.”
The last time some of the slopes and canyons burned in the mountains east of Santa Barbara was in the 1970s, when four firefighters operating bulldozers died in a rollover accident.
Cal Fire officials said Monday that in such difficult terrain, they essentially have no way to get boots and hoses on the ground to attack the western front of the Thomas fire directly.
Some of the newly burned areas have been turned into a moonscape, Ramirez said. These are typically areas that have not seen flames for decades, and they are now vulnerable to mudslides if heavy winter rains arrive, officials said.
Moonscaping is when brush burns completely away, “so that the landscape looks like the surface of the moon,” said Ian MacDonald, a public information officer for the Thomas fire.
“That isn’t in all areas, but in some areas that’s what’s happening, which is an indication of what we call extreme fire behavior,” MacDonald said.
Since it erupted near Thomas Aquinas College north of Santa Paula on Dec. 4, the Thomas fire has forced 88,000 people to flee their homes. Official estimates have put the cost of combating the blaze at $25 million.
In Los Angeles County, firefighters made progress on blazes in Sylmar, Santa Clarita and Bel-Air. The Creek fire was 95% contained, and the Rye fire was 93% contained as of Sunday evening. The Skirball fire was 85% contained.
In northern San Diego County, the Lilac fire, which was 80% contained, had burned 4,100 acres and destroyed more than 100 structures along the Highway 76 corridor that stretches west from the 15 Freeway through Bonsall and Fallbrook.
Back in Santa Barbara County on Monday, ash and silence blanketed the beach community of Summerland.
The quaint eateries, coffee shops and wine shops along Lillie Drive were closed or empty as ash fell. Residents walked their dogs and checked the daily fire map posted on a board outside the local fire station.
Up along State Route 192, Laurent Pellerin wore a surgical mask as he packed his red Audi station wagon with winter clothes and snow chains.
The 48-year-old home decor store manager was getting ready to drive his family to Chicago for a new job when the fire closed in on his cottage near Toro Canyon over the weekend. Now they are leaving, unsure if their home will survive after they go.
“It is surreal; we are leaving the fires and rushing to get the snow chains for winter,” he said.
Across the road, a private Wildfire Protection Unit from the Insurer AIG was patrolling one of the high value homes in the area.
For more California news, follow @brittny_mejia
ALSO
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UPDATES:
2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with details from Montecito.
1:35 p.m.: This article was updated with the scene in Summerland and comments from Laurent Pellerin.
12:35 p.m.: This article was updated with details on celebrity homes threatened by the fire.
10:55 a.m.: This article was updated with details on a firefighter injury.
10:10: a.m.: This article was updated with comments from fire information officer Kalin Ramirez.
9:25 a.m.: This article was updated with details on air quality.
This article was originally published at 8:20 a.m.
