Crews fight to save neighborhoods
LOS ANGELES — The fifthlargest wildfire in California history expanded Tuesday, ripping through dry brush atop a coastal ridge while crews struggled to keep flames from roaring down into neighborhoods amid fears of renewed winds.
Elsewhere, fire officials announced that a cooking fire at a homeless encampment sparked a blaze last week that destroyed six homes in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles.
They are among a half-dozen fires that flared in Southern California last week and were driven by fiercely gusting Santa Ana winds.
Red Flag warnings for fire danger due to Santa Ana winds and a critical lack of moisture were extended into the week, with a possible increase in gusts Thursday into Friday.
Northwest of Los Angeles, firefighters protected foothill homes while much of the fire’s growth occurred to the north in unoccupied forest land, Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason said.
Tens of thousands of people remain evacuated, including many from the seaside enclaves of Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria and the inland agricultural town of Fillmore.
Residents near a Carpinteria avocado orchard said the trees could end up saving their homes.
Poor air quality kept dozens of schools closed. Officials handed out masks to those who stayed behind in Montecito, an exclusive community about 75 from Los Angeles.
The blaze — known as the Thomas Fire — has destroyed more than 680 homes, officials said.
The fire has been burning for more than a week.
The weather service said that if the long-term forecast holds, there will have been 13 consecutive days of dry offshore flow before it ends Friday afternoon. High fire risk is expected to last into January.