Tinder not burned in 100 yrs.
Toldridge said in a Facebook post. “We are taking all precautions to ensure the safety of our animals and our staff.”
The animal care staff was providing “enrichment,” including toys, treats and puzzles, to prevent the zoo residents from becoming bored inside, said director of marketing Dean Noble. “The gorillas like music,” Noble said. Crews were cutting lines outside the area in an effort to keep flames from further encroachment and “contingency strike teams” were dispatched throughout Carpinteria in case the blaze manages to cross fire lines, said Newport Beach Firefighter Jude Olivas, a spokesman for the fire response.
Utility officials said Sunday that up to 85,000 customers in Santa Barbara County were without power.
Even as that fire surged, the approximately 8,500 firefighters battling the six wildfires across Southern California were making progress.
Firefighters had a successful day Saturday working toward the coast as well as parts of Ojai thanks to wind conditions and crews’ ability to improve the fire lines they had established, said Bill Murphy, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Combined, the fires have destroyed about 800 homes and other buildings, killed dozens of horses and forced more than 200,000 people to flee their homes.
Across Ventura County, blackened hillsides and charred palm trees with only their trunks remaining have become a common sight.
Gov. Jerry Brown (photo) said climate change may exacerbate the weather conditions that caused the wildfires to explode. He expressed sympathy for residents who had lost their homes and animals, saying the fires were horrific and a “terrible tragedy for so many people.”
“This could be something that happens every year or every few years,” he said. “We’re about to have a firefighting Christmas.”
Forecasters said Santa Ana winds that whipped fires across the region last week would continue in some areas at least through Monday.
A lack of rain has officials on edge statewide because of parched conditions and no end in sight to the typical fire season.