Smoldering patch of Thomas fire comes back to life
California’s biggest fire on record refuses to die.
On Friday morning, a smoldering area of the Thomas fire came back to life when light winds ignited a patch of unburned vegetation, sending plumes of smoke into the air over Santa Barbara, according to U.S. Forest Service public information officer Jim Mackensen.
Initial reports indicated the fire was started by a burning log that rolled down into brush, but officials said Friday afternoon that that appeared not to be the case.
The flames spread near Gibraltar Road, a windy mountain pass full of million-dollar homes surrounded by grass, bushes and trees. No homes were immediately in danger, but crews weren’t taking any chances, Mackensen said.
Two firefighter hand crews, one engine and two helicopters were working to extinguish the flames before they posed a significant threat, he said.
“Probably the biggest takeaway from this is it’s indicative of the very dry conditions,” Mackensen said. “It’s not out till it’s out.”
The progress of the new flare-up — estimated to be between a tenth and a quarter of an acre — was stopped by 1 p.m., Mackensen said.
The Thomas fire started Dec. 4 and has burned through 281,893 acres on its way to becoming the largest wildfire since California began taking accurate records in 1932. It has burned an area larger than many major U.S. cities, destroyed more than 750 homes in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and killed two people. It is 92% contained, and more than 600 firefighters remain working on the blaze.
With the fire cutting across such a wide area — including forested lands that haven’t burned for for decades — there was a chance something unusual would eventually turn up.
On Wednesday, a bulldozer digging a containment line in Santa Barbara County dredged up a bowl from the native Chumash culture that could be up to 1,000 years old, Mackensen said. The bowl was discovered by firefighters flattening a berm created by the bulldozer, he said.