California wildfire rages toward Montecito, Carpenteria, Santa Barbara - evacuations ordered

[flamingdem]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-wildfires/california-wildfire-rages-toward-scenic-coastal-communities-idUSKBN1E40CE?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Reuters) - A raging wildfire pushed toward a string of California coastal cities on Sunday, prompting new evacuations as crews fought to save homes in the face of gusty winds that have fueled blazes across the state for nearly a week.

Authorities ordered residents in parts of Carpinteria and Montecito to leave early on Sunday as the Thomas Fire edged closer to Santa Barbara, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Los Angeles on the scenic central California coast.

The blaze, the worst of six major fires in Southern California in the last week and already the 10th largest on record in the state since 1932, has blackened 173,000 acres (62,726 hectares), destroyed hundreds of structures and left nearly 90,000 homes and businesses without power.

The combination of Santa Ana winds and rugged terrain in the mountains that run through Santa Barbara and Ventura counties have hampered firefighting efforts, and officials said the Thomas Fire was only 15 percent contained on Sunday.

[kimbutgar]

1. I had a friend in college who lost her family home in Montecito in 1977 due to wildfires

Her Family basically left with the clothes on their back and a box of family photos. I lost touch with her after college and I imagine she is reliving this.

I hope everyone stays safe.

[flamingdem]

2. I've heard that fire mentioned this week

It wiped out so many homes. We might be seeing a replay. Only 15% contained and about to strike those communities with 55 mph winds tonight. Not good.

[malaise]

3. Damn

This is awful

[flamingdem]

4. Not many people know about this one yet

A lot of celebrity names will make it a big story. Can't find much up to the minute accuracy about it but as of a few minutes ago they said 15% contained

[wasupaloopa]

5. I live in Santa Maria about 80 miles from the fire and our sky is dark brown with smoke. The air is

full of ash and smoke. The ground is covered in a layer of ash. The sun was just a red orange ball in the sky. The moon was barely visible this morning.

The air smells of smoke and burns your nose and throat. Electric outages all over Santa Barbara and Goleta.

My chest hurts from breathing the air today.

[flamingdem]

6. Oh no! That sounds terrible. The wind must be blowing that way

Here in Santa Monica the air is okay for now.

[Glimmer of Hope]

9. Do you have a mask? I am not in an evacuation zone but I will leave soon because of the air quality

I am afraid it is not going to get better anytime soon.

[flamingdem]

12. This twitter feed might be helpful and lead to other sources of news, they are distributing masks

or were. The ND95 is what works but anything is better than nothing. I had a headache for 3 days from the Skirball fire nearby

https://twitter.com/countyofsb

[Hortensis]

16. Oh, that's bad. Have you closed the fresh-air intake

on your AC and run that? My husband did that a couple times when smoke gathered heavily in our narrow valley near Pasadena, but with the outside air intake closed. It helped.

Had kids in those days and had to keep them inside. Fun. One time a neighbor got tired of her two and another 4 she was watching for friends because the school was closed, so she walked them all over to our house for a break, which the 3 boys across the street saw so demanded to come over too.

[FuzzyRabbit]

7. My cousin in Santa Barbara is evacuating as I write this.

I just called him. He said he could not talk as they were packing the car. The evacuation was not mandatory, but would be later tonight.

Let's wish good luck for everyone in the fire's path.

[RandomAccess]

8. I am so horrified by these wildfires

and my heart goes out to everyone in California -- 2-legged, 4-legged, winged, gilled.

[flamingdem]

10. Billy Baldwin tweet - he lives in Montecito and had to evacuate I think

Link to tweet

[flamingdem]

11. Here's the evacuation area in Santa Barbara

Link to tweet

[nitpicker]

13. Link to CalFire

http://calfire.ca.gov/

On its page, it links to a Twiiter account about the fires. It's quie now, but there will probably be more posts after sunrise there.

From their Twitter link:

On the Thomas fire:

Thomas Fire

Thomas Fire Incident Information:
Last Updated: December 10, 2017 8:44 pm
Date/Time Started: December 4, 2017 6:28 pm
Administrative Unit: Unified Command: CAL FIRE, Ventura County Fire, City of Ventura, Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County Sheriff,
County: Santa Barbara County,Ventura County
Location: Hwy 150 and Hwy 126, north of Santa Paula
Acres Burned - Containment: 230,000 acres - 10% contained
Structures Threatened: 18,000 structures threatened
Structures Destroyed: 790 Structures Destroyed, 191 Structures Damaged
Evacuations: Evacuation Map
12/10/2017 4:00 PM - Mandatory Evacuations Ordered for Areas of Santa Barbara County

12/10/2017 1:00 PM - Evacuations Lifted in Unincorporated Areas Near Santa Paula

12/10/2017 11:00 AM - Mandatory Evacuations Ordered for Areas of Santa Barbara County

12/10/2017 6:00 AM - Mandatory Evacuations Ordered for Areas of Santa Barbara County

12/10/2017 2:30 AM - Mandatory Evacuations Ordered

12/10/2017 1:50 AM - Mandatory Evacuations Ordered

12/10/17 PM - See the latest Incident Update for more information on this fire.

Cooperating Agencies: CAL FIRE, Ventura County Fire, Ventura County Sheriff, Santa Barbara County Fire, Santa Barbara County Sheriff, City of Ventura Fire Department, City of Ventura Police Department, USFS/Los Padres National Forest, CAL OES, Red Cross, Southern California Edison, CHP, California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation, SoCaGas, Crimson Pipeline, Wildfire Defense Systems, CA Resources Group, Santa Paula Police, Santa Paula Fire, Ventura County OES, Santa Barbara OEM

[nitpicker]

14. The latest from the LA Times

http://beta.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-thomas-fire-santa-barbara-fire-20171210-story.html

[Hortensis]

15. Homes of some of our people here are threatened,

family affected. One tiny grandson was admitted to a NICU to protect him from the smoke in the air. 50,000 more acres in this fire, more evauations.

On the plus side, the Lilac fire threatening communities north of San Diego is mostly contained, as are the 3 other large fires after costing many people their homes, and one her life when she was in an accident while trying to escape the fire.

Any could reverse, though, and new ones could pop up at any time, any place. Tens of millions live between Santa Barabara and the border, and arson and carelessness are always fears. A DUer who lived through the huge fires a decade and more ago down near San Diego is afraid it could happen all over again. I think it was the 2007 fire that kept spreading, couldn't be contained, and just went on and on for most of a month.

Trump has declared a national disaster. Although the new tax bill is eliminating assistance for personal property losses for most people, this is California, not Puerto Rico, 2018 is coming up fast, and congress has the ability to extend assistance when it chooses.