California blaze ebbs after record fire season

Santa Barbara, Ventura counties open for visitors

Firefighters have gained nearly total containment of California’s largest wildfire ever and urged visitors to come to Santa Barbara and Ventura now that the danger has passed and smoke is abating.

“Businesses are open and eager to serve the public,” CalFire, the statewide firefighting agency, said Tuesday. “No forward progress of the fire is expected at this point.”

The Thomas Fire has burned about 281,620 acres — more than 440 square miles — and destroyed more than 1,000 structures, from multimilliondollar homes to telephone poles and garages. An additional 280 structures have been damaged. The fire is 88% contained.

The blaze broke out Dec. 4 and was whipped up by a days-long windstorm that drove flames through some of the state’s ritziest neighborhoods, including Montecito, forcing celebrities to evacuate.

All mandatory evacuations have been lifted, and the fire has diminished in cities it once threatened from Fillmore to Santa Barbara.

The number of firefighters assigned to the blaze is dropping rapidly, a sign authorities believe they’ve turned the corner. About 900 firefighters are assigned to the area, down from about 3,000 at the height of the assault.

The largest previously recorded wildfire in state history was the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, which burned 273,246 acres in 2003. The Cedar Fire had been recognized as the biggest California wildfire in acreage since 1932. Some fires before that date probably were larger, but records are unreliable.

Coming on the heels of October’s wine country wildfires, the milestone reaffirmed 2017 as the most destructive fire season in the state. Despite its size, the Thomas Fire has been less destructive than either the wine country fires or the Cedar Fire, which destroyed 2,820 structures and killed 15 people. The Thomas Fire has been associated with two deaths, including a firefighter.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.

MIKE ELIASON/SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT VIA AP Flames from a backfire rise behind a home in Santa Barbara, Calif.