Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Harsh fire season in Calif. may be ‘the new normal’
Governor warns blazes could last until Christmas
VENTURA, Calif. — Firefighters continued to battle blazes across a large swath of Southern California on Saturday even as state officials warned that continued high winds into Sunday could create erratic fire conditions, leaving residents with little chance of a reprieve from the flames and smoke that have lasted nearly a week.
The Thomas Fire, in a coastal region northwest of Los Angeles, remained the largest active wildfire in the state, having burned nearly 150,000 acres and taking with it more than 500 buildings and at least one life. Though officials began lifting evacuation orders in Ventura — to the south of the fire — residents in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, enclaves along Highway 101 farther northwest, were still under threat as the fire’s northern vanguard continued to move.
Officials said that expected winds, which could strike up at a moment’s notice and had been pushing the fires toward populated areas, remained a concern. They also lamented the brutal fire season, which has sent massive fires into urban areas up and down the state.
“This is kind of the new normal,” Gov. Jerry Brown said at a news conference Saturday in Ventura County. “We’re facing a new reality in this state, where fires threaten people’s lives, their property, their neighborhoods and, of course, billions and billions of dollars.”
Brown said climate change would mean residents should expect similarly extreme fire activity for decades.
“I know that’s maybe a little remote, but it’s real, and we’re experiencing what it’s going to look like on a very regular basis,” he said.
He warned that there’s a good chance of seeing “firefighting at Christmas.”
In total, some 800 homes and other buildings have been destroyed by the wildfires, authorities said.
Meanwhile, the air quality is worst in and around fires burning from Ventura County to San Diego County, but the smoke has traveled to places not threatened by the flames. And with the Santa Ana winds dying down, officials say the smoke could stick around for a while.
In San Diego County, firefighters continued to battle the Lilac Fire, which started Thursday and spread quickly. Residents who fled described rapidly moving flames.
“Oh my God, the heat, the heat,” Clifford Sise, a horse trainer who had to evacuate while trying to get his horses out of San Luis Rey Downs, a racehorse facility in San Diego County where it is believed dozens of horses died.
“One of my fillies wouldn’t leave, she burned to death in like one minute,” he said. “I had ’em all out, and then when I went back after, I must’ve had two little babies run back in their stalls and they died.”
The fires took many people by surprise since breaking out Monday in Ventura County, where the only death involved Virginia Pesola, 70, who was found in a wrecked car on a designated evacuation route in the small city of Santa Paula. She died of “blunt force injuries with terminal smoke inhalation and thermal injuries,” according to the county medical examiner.
Across the region, people who fled recounted fire and smoke that seemed to come from everywhere.
Ventura residents Christie and Mark Evans, both 35, were forced to evacuate on short notice. The couple had received the keys to their newly purchased home Dec. 1, and started the process of moving in last weekend.
Christie Evans, who is 8½ months pregnant with her second child, spent Monday readying their new home, locking up around 6:30 p.m. before returning to her recently sold house.
It was the last she was would see of the new home.
“Around 8, my brother called and said there was a fire ... that was moving toward Ventura,” she said.
Mark Evans decided to head to the new house to get the family pet, a 35-year-old rescue tortoise named Sheldon, who was hibernating in the garage. Once inside, he grabbed a wedding album, some paperwork and the tortoise.
On Tuesday, while at her parents’ house with her 17-month-old son, Christie Evans was watching the news with her mom and sister. What she saw stunned her. “There was my driveway — and there was no house,” she said.
Like most of the houses on the block, it was a total loss. They have returned once, only to find the street smoldering with small fires caused by gas leaks.
“It didn’t seem like anything that would happen in real life,” she said. “The Christmas presents are all gone, the Christmas decorations are all gone, all of that stuff. Luckily my son is young enough where he doesn’t really understand Christmas, but we still want him to have some good memories of it.”