Story highlights
- At least 2,500 firefighters battling the 96,000-acre Thomas Fire
- Winds could intensify fires as mandatory evacuations ordered in Ojai Valley
(CNN)Dry
weather and merciless winds, with gusts predicted to reach the strength
of a Category 1 hurricane in mountainous areas, threaten to intensify
the already devastating Southern California wildfires that have driven
110,000 people from their homes.
Thousands
of firefighters -- 2,500 on the massive Thomas Fire alone -- have been
working nonstop to battle the blazes racing across hillsides and through
neighborhoods, officials said. Almost 9,000 homes are without power.
Officials have shut down hundreds of schools spanning at least 15
districts.
Despite a
brief respite in the winds Wednesday, they began picking up again in the
evening. A gust of 85 mph was detected in Ventura County. Forecasters
say Thursday will bring gusts of 80 mph in the higher altitudes, while
winds of 50 to 70 mph will make firefighters' mission extremely
difficult in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
The
humidity won't help. It will still be low Thursday, meaning the trees
and brush fueling the fires will continue to be tinder. Firefighters are
exhausted and airborne embers are irritating their eyes.
"Honestly,
the firefighters are taking a beating, but we have to acknowledge the
residents because they're taking beating, too, but they're cooperating
with our orders," said Thomas Kruschke, spokesman for the Ventura County
Fire Department.
The battle to
douse the blaze is especially arduous on the Santa Barbara-Ventura
County line, where the terrain is steep and rugged, he said. Fire
officials hope to get as many as a dozen helicopters in the air
Thursday, but the winds have been playing havoc on the choppers and
fixed-wing aircraft, Kruschke said.
The Thomas Fire was 5% contained as of early Thursday. At 96,000 acres, the fire is roughly the size of Denver.
Officials say they will see a "recipe for explosive fire growth" and an unprecedented fire danger score. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department,
experts grade fire danger by measuring the moisture in dead vegetation,
the temperature, wind speed and direction, and then assessing
historical weather information.
A value of 48 is considered high danger, while 162 is extreme. Thursday's score: 296, a record.
It's
not the only first that firefighters have experienced with the Southern
California blazes. The scale used to measure the potency of the Santa
Ana winds typically runs from gray, for little or no danger, to red, for
high danger.
"The forecast for
(Thursday) is purple," said Ken Pimlott, director at the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, according to CNN affiliate KCBS. "We've never used purple before."
Latest developments
• More evacuations: Several
cities in the Ojai Valley are under mandatory evacuation. Satellite
images by the National Weather Service showed the city of Ojai
surrounded by fires.
• Areas of concern: Firefighters said they are keeping the Skirball Fire at bay but worry it will jump west of Interstate 405.
• School closures: More than 260 Los Angeles public and charter schools will be closed Thursday and Friday.
• Out-of-state help: About 300 engines are coming from fire departments in other states, Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby said.
Stretching 140 square miles
The
Thomas Fire in Ventura County, which sits just north and west of Los
Angeles, grew significantly Wednesday to about 150 square miles. The Rye
Fire in Santa Clarita is holding at 7,000, with 15% containment, while
the Skirball Fire has burned about 475 acres and is 5% contained.
Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Antoine Hanna comforts his wife, Tammy, after firefighters save their home in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Fires leave an apartment complex leveled in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A firefighter sprays water at a burning house in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Palm trees burn in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Ventura County firefighter Aaron Cohen rests between fighting fires in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A
man prepares to evacuate from his Santa Paula house on December 5. Tens
of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A man attempts to catch a horse that got loose during a wildfire in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Shrubs burn near a home in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
James and Josie Ralstin carry belongings retrieved from their home in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Firefighters battle to put out a blaze engulfing homes in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
The Thomas Fire burns along a hillside near Santa Paula on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Fires
surround a hilltop mansion in the wealthy Bel-Air district of Los
Angeles on Wednesday, December 6. Powerful Santa Ana winds and extremely
dry conditions are fueling wildfires in Southern California in what has been a devastating year for such natural disasters in the state.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
"Daddy,
the home is gone," Amanda Lewis tells her family on December 6 after
the Thomas Fire raged through her parents' foothill neighborhood in
Ventura, a coastal city just north of Los Angeles. The Thomas Fire, the largest of the Southern California blazes, started north of Santa Paula before spreading to Ventura.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Smoke rises across Southern California, as seen from the International Space Station on December 6.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A
Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter makes a water drop on
flames sweeping up a steep canyon wall after the Skirball Fire swept
through Bel-Air on December 6.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Flames from the Thomas Fire burn above a truck on Highway 101 north of Ventura.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Joyce George, right, comforts neighbor Dawn Reily, whose Ventura home was destroyed by fire, on December 6.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Flames consume vehicles in Ventura on Tuesday, December 5, as wildfires spread in Southern California.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Smoke billows from a burning house in Los Angeles as the Creek Fire moves through the area December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
The Thomas Fire spews smoke in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
The Creek Fire burns on a hillside in the Shadow Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A firefighter battles the blaze in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Antoine Hanna comforts his wife, Tammy, after firefighters save their home in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Fires leave an apartment complex leveled in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A firefighter sprays water at a burning house in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Palm trees burn in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Ventura County firefighter Aaron Cohen rests between fighting fires in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A
man prepares to evacuate from his Santa Paula house on December 5. Tens
of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A man attempts to catch a horse that got loose during a wildfire in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Shrubs burn near a home in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
James and Josie Ralstin carry belongings retrieved from their home in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Firefighters battle to put out a blaze engulfing homes in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
The Thomas Fire burns along a hillside near Santa Paula on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Fires
surround a hilltop mansion in the wealthy Bel-Air district of Los
Angeles on Wednesday, December 6. Powerful Santa Ana winds and extremely
dry conditions are fueling wildfires in Southern California in what has been a devastating year for such natural disasters in the state.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
"Daddy,
the home is gone," Amanda Lewis tells her family on December 6 after
the Thomas Fire raged through her parents' foothill neighborhood in
Ventura, a coastal city just north of Los Angeles. The Thomas Fire, the largest of the Southern California blazes, started north of Santa Paula before spreading to Ventura.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Smoke rises across Southern California, as seen from the International Space Station on December 6.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A
Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter makes a water drop on
flames sweeping up a steep canyon wall after the Skirball Fire swept
through Bel-Air on December 6.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Flames from the Thomas Fire burn above a truck on Highway 101 north of Ventura.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Joyce George, right, comforts neighbor Dawn Reily, whose Ventura home was destroyed by fire, on December 6.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Flames consume vehicles in Ventura on Tuesday, December 5, as wildfires spread in Southern California.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
Smoke billows from a burning house in Los Angeles as the Creek Fire moves through the area December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
The Thomas Fire spews smoke in Ventura on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
The Creek Fire burns on a hillside in the Shadow Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on December 5.
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Photos: Wildfires spread in Southern California
A firefighter battles the blaze in the Lake View Terrace area of Los Angeles on December 5.
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"There
are still a few people still in their homes in the evacuation areas,
and they should come out. There are still embers that can move and catch
as we have wind conditions," Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz
said of the Skirball blaze.
Officials
said they couldn't give a precise number of homes destroyed, because
flames in burned neighborhoods were too intense. They estimated about
150 buildings had been destroyed as of Wednesday night. The number will
increase once the focus shifts from firefighting and rescue to more
damage assessment, fire officials said.
The Thomas Fire threatened beachfront homes Wednesday north of Ventura.
California
Gov. Jerry Brown has declared an emergency for the county, freeing
state resources such as the National Guard to support response efforts.
Freeway shutdown
Brandy Gillespie took this photo driving on I-405 early Wednesday near the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
The Skirball Fire near the tony Bel-Air area of Los Angeles startled commuters Wednesday morning on I-405.
The busy freeway was shut down over a 9-mile stretch for hours as the fire got closer.
"It
was dark until I saw a gigantic ball of orange," motorist Tiffany
Lynette Anderson wrote on Instagram, where she posted a picture of fire
raging beside the highway before it was closed.
"I could feel the heat on my windows," said Los Angeleno Joy Newcomb, who also drove by the fire.
The freeway has since reopened, but some ramps remained closed.
Firefighters
worked Wednesday night to keep the fire from jumping west of 405 and to
battle some flare-ups, said Peter Sanders, a spokesman for the Los
Angeles Fire Department.
Smoky hazards
Los
Angeles authorities ordered parts of the Bel-Air district near the fire
to leave, but those are just a fraction of the evacuations that have
been ordered in Southern California since Monday night.
Smoke
collected even in areas that weren't burning. Health officials warned
people in the heavily populated San Fernando Valley and other parts of
the northern Los Angeles area to limit their time outdoors.
A
video posted to Instagram shows a Los Angeles County Fire helicopter
maneuvering around heavy smoke to make a water drop on the Skirball
Fire.
The smoke from the fires
could be seen from the International Space Station. Astronaut Randy
Bresnik wrote in one tweet: "I was asked this evening if we can see the
SoCal fires from space. Yes Faith, unfortunately we can. May the Santa
Ana's die down soon. #Californiawildfire."
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