Reporting from Santa Barbara — More than a week after the Thomas fire ignited in Ventura County, destroying hundreds of homes and displacing thousands as it grew into a massive inferno, firefighters are now in a race to protect the pristine coastal communities of neighboring Santa Barbara County before a shift in powerful winds forecast for this weekend.
Across the mountain ridges above Santa Barbara, Summerland and Montecito, firefighters Wednesday were building containment lines, clearing brush, digging breaks and setting small backfires to burn fuel, all in an effort to create barriers to stop the forward march of the fire.
Conditions so far this week have been favorable, allowing firefighters to attack the flames on the southwestern flank of the blaze as it moves west toward the Santa Ynez Mountains.
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But the National Weather Service was forecasting sundowner winds blowing southeast at up to 35 mph Friday night, followed by Santa Ana winds Saturday that, at up to 45 mph, could steer the fire toward the southwest.
“When the wind starts pushing it, we can throw everything we have at it and it’s not going to do any good,” Mark Brown, an operations section chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told Santa Barbara residents Wednesday night.
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The stakes are high. If the fire moves into Santa Barbara and Montecito, nearly a quarter million residents and 62,000 structures worth $46 billion would be at risk.
When the wind starts pushing it, we can throw everything we have at it and it’s not going to do any good.
— Mark Brown, Cal Fire operations section chief
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As firefighters well know, sundowner winds are notoriously unpredictable. The winds occur when hot air from the Santa Ynez Valley rises and swiftly pours over the mountain passes toward the Pacific Ocean, as if a person pressed a thumb over the end of a hose.
“It creates very erratic wind conditions, which are very difficult to predict and very difficult to fight fire in,” said Capt. Brendan Ripley, a fire behavior analyst with the Ventura County Fire Department. “It moves fire in different directions. It changes throughout the day.”
If crews can’t finish the containment line across a roughly six-mile stretch in the mountains fast enough to stop the fire’s march west, firefighters may have to burn the fuel themselves — a risky proposition and a scary sight for residents.
“It’s a proactive approach to fight the fire on our terms instead of on Mother Nature’s terms,” Brown said. “It’s well-coordinated if we do it. We’ve had numerous subject-matter experts put the plan together. It’s been vetted at all levels. All the local authorities have looked at it and approved it.”
Fire officials stressed that this plan would be used only if the weekend wind events occur as predicted and if crews can’t make a stand and fight the fire directly. The controlled blaze would burn up to 4,000 acres and be started when winds are favorable for firefighters.
The Thomas Fire, feeding on thick chaparral brush which hasn’t burned in generations, approaches homes in Montecito.
(David McNew / Getty Images )
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Meanwhile, firefighters hoped to slow the blaze by building breaks into areas with less vegetation because those areas burned in the last decade, said Chris Childers, a battalion chief with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
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 small, indefensible buildings in protective metallic sheeting that looks like tinfoil to reduce the chances they ignite.
As smoke cleared and visibility improved, a conga line of low-flying helicopters started arriving at a county park in Santa Barbara off Highway 154 to pick up fire retardant. Officials said 33 helicopters and eight airplanes were dropping water and retardant on the blaze.
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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)
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A brush fire moving with the wind sends embers all over residential neighborhoods north of Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A family packs up and evacuates as a brush fire gets closer to their home in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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Strangers band together to help put out a palm tree on fire and stop it from burning homes.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The Hawaiian Gardens apartments burn in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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Residents help with the fire attack on Buena Vista Street in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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Residents watch the Thomas fire on Prospect Street in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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Firefighters are deployed to battle the fire in a Ventura neighborhood.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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Remnants of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A home burns on a hillside overlooking Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Palms are consumed in the Thomas fire.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )
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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)
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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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Aerial view of the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Noah Alarcon carries a cage with the family cat while evacuating from Casitas Springs.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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Smoke from the Thomas fire crosses over Lake Casitas near Ojai.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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A Ventura County firefighter battles a blaze on Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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Aerial view of homes burned to the ground in the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )
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A home between Via Baja and Foothill Road burns in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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Chino Valley firefighters fight to save a home along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters try to protect homes from the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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The Thomas fire burns towards the 101 Freeway and homes between Solimar and Faria Beaches.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Fire personnel keep an eye on the Thomas fire on Toland Road near Santa Paula.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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A train on the Rincon coast passes a burning hillside from the Thomas fire.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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The Thomas fire burns along the 101 Freeway north of Ventura on Wednesday evening.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire in the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A resident cries as the Thomas fire approaches the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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Firefighters battle Thursday to protect the resort city of Ojai from encroaching flames.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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A burnt-out bus near Maripoca Highway.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The Thomas fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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The Thomas Fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai, Calif. on Friday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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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.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Carpenteria resident Chris Gayner, right, photographs a plane in the hills of Carpenteria.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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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.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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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.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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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.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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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.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Sacramento firefighters battle a blaze in Toro Canyon in Carpenteria at dusk Tuesday.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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A hotshot crew from Ojai marches towards their assignment to protect structures on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters monitor the flames Saturday from a staging area near Parma Park in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Flames slowly make their way down a valley behind a home in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Flames whip around power lines as they move through Sycamore Canyon on Saturday, threatening structures in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Smoke billows over Santa Barbara as the Thomas Fire continues to threaten the area on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A fire truck pulls responds to fires burning near homes on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )
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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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A home on Park Hill Lane was destroyed by the Thomas fire in Montecito, Calif.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )
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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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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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)
As of Thursday morning, the Thomas fire had burned more than 242,500 acres and was 30% contained. It has destroyed more than 900 homes in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties since it began Dec. 4 near Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula. In its first day, the fire spread southwest, toward Ventura, and northwest, eventually hugging Ojai before pushing to the Central Coast.
With containment lines now protecting Ventura and Santa Paula, firefighters there have been on a “seek and destroy” mission for any lingering hot spots that could threaten avocado groves, fire officials said Wednesday.
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“This fire is a beast and you’re gonna kill it,” Martin Johnson, Santa Barbara County fire division chief, told fire crews at a morning briefing. “I have no doubt.”
Authorities said it will probably take months for fire officials to determine the cause of the Thomas fire.
Serna from reported from Ventura, Panzar from Santa Barbara and Hamilton from Los Angeles.
Javier Panzar is a former assistant editor with the Los Angeles Times, where he oversaw audience engagement for the Environment, Health and Science department and, before that, its California section. He previously worked as a digital editor on the News Desk and as a reporter covering state and regional politics as well as breaking news in California. Panzar started at The Times as an intern and then a MetPro fellow in 2014. He was born and raised in Oakland. His reporting has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Seattle Times, the Orange County Register and UC Berkeley’s independent student newspaper, the Daily Californian.
Matt Hamilton is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. He won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting with colleagues Harriet Ryan and Paul Pringle and was part of the team of reporters that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. A graduate of Boston College and the University of Southern California, he joined The Times in 2013.
