California Wildfires Burn More Structures After Massive Surge This Weekend
California wildfires continue to rage out of control.
While thousands of firefighters in Southern California have made some progress against the Thomas Fire, they still lost ground on the massive infernos over the weekend. The wildfire gained more strength and surged on Sunday, burning more than 230,500 acres.
It is now the fifth-largest wildfire in the history of modern California as it spreads from Ventura County into Santa Barbara County. So far, only 15 percent of the land has been contained.
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Speaking with CNN, Santa Barbara County fire spokesman Mike Eliason said things started to get better on Monday as the wind pushed the fire away from communities nearby. Visibility for fire crews also improved because the breeze had somewhat cleared the air.
"It's still not great. It's bad, but it's a better bad," Eliason explained. "You want the breeze to clear the air, but you don't want the breeze to fuel the fire."
He added, "Hope springs eternal. Every day we're going to hope that this progressing and getting closer and closer of being put to bed. But right now we're going to need some rain and the long range forecast doesn't show that."
Over 200,000 people have been displaced since the wildfires started last week, The Guardian reports. Despite the strong surges recorded this weekend, only one person is confirmed to have passed away — a 70-year-old named Virginia Pesola whose car crashed while she was trying to flee her home.
Named after the Thomas Aquinas College nearby where it broke out, the Thomas Fire caused electricity outages as it ravaged the foothills surrounding Santa Barbara. Even residents who did not receive evacuation orders decided to leave, out of fear that another key coastal highway might be shut down.
