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On This Day in 2017: The Thomas Fire Starts
December 2, 2020 at 10:17 AM EST
By WeatherBug's Christopher Smith
On this day in 2017, the Thomas Fire ignited near Santa Paula, Calif., in what would become the 7th largest wildfire in state history.
Right around dinnertime in southern California on December 4, 2017, the Thomas Fire was set off by power lines just north of Santa Paula, Calif. Santa Ana winds, strong offshore winds that fuel wildfires to spread with low humidity and strong gusts, were raging. The fire grew explosively as wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph pushed the fire out of control.
By late evening, evacuations were already underway for parts of Ventura, Calif., and nearly 12 hours later, the fire had grown to a staggering 40,000 acres and was zero percent contained. The Santa Ana winds continued to rage and just a day later, 90,000 acres were scorched with additional evacuations underway in Santa Barbara County, Calif.
The earliest that evacuations started to be lifted for parts of the area was December 21 and containment of the fire didn’t occur until over a month after the fire began. Full containment finally occurred on January 12, 2018, after days of heavy rain drenched southern California.
In total, more than 1,000 structures were destroyed by the Thomas Fire with another 280 structures damaged. The fire was responsible for two deaths and cost around $2 billion. Nearly 282,000 acres, or about 441 square miles of land, were burned between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Sources: countyofsb.org, cityofventura.ca.gov, ucsb.edu
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Story Image: In this Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017, photo flames from a wildfire consume the mountainside near the Cate School campus in Carpinteria, Calif. (Kenneth Song/Santa Barbara News-Press via AP).
Right around dinnertime in southern California on December 4, 2017, the Thomas Fire was set off by power lines just north of Santa Paula, Calif. Santa Ana winds, strong offshore winds that fuel wildfires to spread with low humidity and strong gusts, were raging. The fire grew explosively as wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph pushed the fire out of control.
By late evening, evacuations were already underway for parts of Ventura, Calif., and nearly 12 hours later, the fire had grown to a staggering 40,000 acres and was zero percent contained. The Santa Ana winds continued to rage and just a day later, 90,000 acres were scorched with additional evacuations underway in Santa Barbara County, Calif.
The earliest that evacuations started to be lifted for parts of the area was December 21 and containment of the fire didn’t occur until over a month after the fire began. Full containment finally occurred on January 12, 2018, after days of heavy rain drenched southern California.
In total, more than 1,000 structures were destroyed by the Thomas Fire with another 280 structures damaged. The fire was responsible for two deaths and cost around $2 billion. Nearly 282,000 acres, or about 441 square miles of land, were burned between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Sources: countyofsb.org, cityofventura.ca.gov, ucsb.edu
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Story Image: In this Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017, photo flames from a wildfire consume the mountainside near the Cate School campus in Carpinteria, Calif. (Kenneth Song/Santa Barbara News-Press via AP).