Deadly California wildfire continues to spread out

SANTABARBARA, CALIFORNIA— Calming winds Friday gave firefighters a chance to gain ground against a huge wildfire in coastal mountains northwest of Los Angeles but the blaze continued to surge west, endangering thousands of homes, as forecasts called for a renewal of gusty winds.

The so-called Thomas Fire, the fourth-largest in California history, was 35 percent contained Friday night after sweeping across 400 square miles (about 1,036 sq. kilometers) of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties since it erupted December 4.

Between Thursday night and Friday morning, the blaze claimed another 3,000 acres as it fed on brush and timber killed by California's long drought or a week of hot, dry weather.

Santa Barbara has had only a tiny amount of rain since Oct. 1, the start of the new water year, and is more than 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) below normal to date.

Firefighters continued to carve firebreaks above the communities of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Summerland and Montecito and state fire officials said evacuations would be called as needed as flames advanced.

The fire already has destroyed more than 1,000 buildings, including well over 700 homes, and threatens 18,000 more structures.

Another focus of firefighting was on the eastern flank in canyons where a state firefighter was killed Thursday near the agricultural town of Fillmore.