By David E. Hubler
Contributor, EDM Digest
The still-raging Thomas fire along the California coast became the state’s fourth-largest wildfire on record Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The 242.5 thousand-acre blaze surpassed the Zaca fire, which scorched Santa Barbara County in 2007, Dave Zaniboni, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, told the newspaper.
A two-day lull in winds has allowed the more than 8,000 firefighters to increase fire containment to 30 percent. But forecasters predict a new blast of Santa Ana winds and sundowner winds over Santa Barbara County on Friday.
Full containment of the blaze is not expected until January 7, more than three weeks from now.
So far, the blaze has destroyed 972 structures and damaged 258 others. Eighteen hundred structures remain threatened, according to the Calfire website. Many residents were ordered to evacuate their homes while others did so voluntarily.
“More than a quarter million residents and an estimated $46 billion worth of infrastructure is at risk as the Thomas Fire continues its push westward in Santa Barbara County,” the Santa Barbara News-Press said.
The mountains north of the coast produce notoriously unpredictable and dangerous conditions for firefighters, fire behavior analyst Tim Chavez told the LA Times. “This thing is 60 miles long and 40 miles wide,” Chavez said of the blaze. “There’s a lot of fire out there.”
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