By Danielle Paquette
The deadly wildfire that has ravaged Southern California for nearly two weeks continued to spread overnight and now threatens swaths of coastal Santa Barbara County, authorities said Saturday.
Heavy winds, dry brush and low humidity keep fueling the so-called Thomas Fire, said Jude Olivas, a public information officer and Newport Beach firefighter who was monitoring the destruction.
“There’s very, very poor visibility in those areas,” Olivas said of Montecito and Summerland, where emergency vehicles were parked at the ready outside of churches and public schools. “We’ve got over 400 firetrucks out there.”
Aerial photos showed the blaze was about 40 percent contained on Saturday, he said. But the risk remains high for people living near the foothills of Montecito – home to a number of celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. Rain isn’t expected to quench the area for another ten days.
The mandatory evacuation zone on Saturday afternoon stretched 17 miles long and about 5 miles wide, running from the mountains northwest of Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean. Winds in the foothills reached 30 mph, with gusts hitting twice that speed.
The fire has scorched roughly 259,000 acres and 700 homes in Southern California since it started Dec. 4. One firefighter died Thursday while trying to halt the blaze.
Cory Iverson, 32, had worked with Cal Fire for eight years, serving as an engineer for the San Diego unit. He was also the father of a two-year-old daughter, and his wife, Ashley, is pregnant, according to the California governor’s office.
