The Thomas fire, which has burned through Ventura County for more than a week and entered Santa Barbara County over the weekend, has now scorched 237,500 acres and is 25% contained, fire officials said Wednesday.
The fire, which ignited Dec. 4, grew by 1,500 acres overnight, a Ventura County Fire Department public information officer tweeted Wednesday.
”Firefighters made good progress overnight,” the public information officer account tweeted. “Thomas is moving North and West toward the Santa Ynez mountain range away [from] populated areas.”
On Tuesday evening, authorities said they had “turned a corner” in fighting the blaze along its eastern flank in Ventura County. Winds were relatively calm and evacuations were lifted in the Lake Casitas area. However, officials warned stronger winds could return Thursday or Friday.
On the Santa Barbara County side, the fire continues to threaten the communities of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito and surrounding areas. The tedious, but vital, work of clearing brush down to the dirt as a fire barrier in the hills above Santa Barbara County’s wealthy beach enclave will continue Wednesday.
More than five miles of additional containment line needs to be created by hand above Montecito and its neighboring communities as the Thomas fire continues its slow march west toward the Santa Ynez range, officials said.
About 600 fire engines are jammed into the narrow, winding roads in the Santa Barbara County foothills. Trucks are spraying retardant on grassy hillsides and firefighters are wrapping indefensible, small buildings in protective metallic sheeting that looks like tinfoil to reduce the chances they ignite.
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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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 3/73
A family packs up and evacuates as a brush fire gets closer to their home in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 4/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 6/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 10/73
A chimney is all that stands of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 11/73
Remnants of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 12/73
A home burns on a hillside overlooking Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 13/73
Palms are consumed in the Thomas fire.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times ) 14/73
Emma Jacobson, 19, center, gets a hug from a neighbor after her family home was destroyed by fire in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 15/73
Olivia Jacobson, 16, wipes tears as she looks at her family’s home, destroyed by the brush fire on Island View Drive in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 16/73
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.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 23/73
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.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 29/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 31/73
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.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 36/73
A firefighter battles the Thomas fire in the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 37/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 40/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 42/73
The Thomas fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 43/73
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.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 44/73
The Thomas Fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai, Calif. on Friday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 45/73
Residents react as they watch the Thomas Fire burn in the hills above La Conchita at 5 am Thursday moning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 46/73
Mary McEwen and husband Dan Bellaart prepare to evacuate their home on Toro Canyon Road in Montecito as the Thomas fire burns.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 47/73
Carpenteria resident Chris Gayner, right, photographs a plane in the hills of Carpenteria.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 48/73
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.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 49/73
Mary McEwen cheers as she sees fire crews make their way up a hill past her home on Toro Canyon Rd. in Montecito.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 50/73
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.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 51/73
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.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 52/73
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.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) 54/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 58/73
Firefighters monitor the flames Saturday from a staging area near Parma Park in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 59/73
Flames slowly make their way down a valley behind a home in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 60/73
Flames whip around power lines as they move through Sycamore Canyon on Saturday, threatening structures in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 61/73
Smoke billows over Santa Barbara as the Thomas Fire continues to threaten the area on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 62/73
Bill Shubin, deputy fire chief of the Santa Rosa Fire Department checks on flames burning near homes north of East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 63/73
A fire truck pulls responds to fires burning near homes on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times ) 64/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 65/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 66/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 69/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 70/73
A home on Park Hill Lane was destroyed by the Thomas fire in Montecito, Calif.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times ) 71/73
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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 72/73
Fire crews help the Behrman family retrieve their family’s personal belongings out of their burned home, in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 73/73
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) Firefighters used a similar strategy to protect historic sequoias from the Rough fire in 2015.
Deeper in the forest above Santa Barbara near Gibraltar Dam, crews have worked day and night building a defense to stop it from reaching the Santa Ynez mountains.
“We want to stop it in its tracks,” said Charles Esseling, a public information officer from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in Riverside County.
The fire’s spread northwest has also been slowed because its reached the burn scar from the massive Zaca fire of 2007.
Firefighters are attacking the flames directly by air and ground south of Highway 33 while containment lines are constructed, Esseling said.
With containment lines safely protecting Ventura and Santa Paula to the east, firefighters there will be on a “seek and destroy” mission for any lingering hot spots that could threaten precious avocado groves, fire officials said at a morning briefing at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
“This fire is a beast and you’re gonna kill it,” Martin Johnson, Santa Barbara County fire division chief, told fire crews. “I have no doubt.”
As firefighters continue to gain a handle on the fire — which is the fifth-largest in state history — California fire officials offered a hint as to what may have ignited the Thomas and other destructive blazes that tore across Southern California last week.
It likely will take months for fire officials to determine the cause of the fires, but state officials have notified Southern California Edison that the utility’s equipment is under investigation. Power lines downed by high winds have been the cause of major brush fires in the past. The far smaller Skirball fire in Los Angeles was started by a cooking fire at a homeless encampment, officials said this week. But investigations into other fires are expanding, according to SCE.
“The investigations now include locations beyond those identified last week as the apparent origin of these fires,” the power company said in a statement. “SCE believes the investigations now include the possible role of its facilities.”
As a precaution last week, the utility shut off power temporarily to parts of Riverside County during high winds.
As of Tuesday, Edison said it was finishing restoring equipment damaged in the Liberty, Rye and Creek fires — replacing more than 300 poles with 200 more waiting.
Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this story.
joseph.serna@latimes.com
Twitter: @JosephSerna
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