Thomas Fire Grew To 55,000 Acres On 1st Day

VENTURA, CA — A fire that started last Monday evening near Highway 150 in California quickly spread into Ventura scorching more than 55,000 acres in the region and forcing the evacuation of more than 27,000 people on its first day of burning. As of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, about 3,000 homes were threatened by the fire, and there was no containment.

In its second week, the Thomas Fire has reached over 200,000 acres. On Monday, Dec. 11:

• Thomas Fire Forced Evacuations In Santa Barbara County. Follow this and more information about Southern California wildfires in December on Patch:
• CA Wildfire Explodes To 230,500 Acres; More Evacuations Ordered: Five days after it began, the Thomas Fire has made its way to Santa Barbara County.

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Original story:

Officials said at a Tuesday morning press conference that one firefighter was injured in the blaze as more than 1,000 personnel work to gain ground on the fire being fueled by erratic Santa Ana winds. The fast-moving fire forced Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.

“This fire is very dangerous and spreading rapidly, but we'll continue to attack it with all we've got,” Brown said in a statement. “It's critical residents stay ready and evacuate immediately if told to do so.”

At least 150 structures were burned, 3,000 structures are threatened and nearly 180,000 customers in the region were without power, officials said. The entire city of Ventura, as well as, the communities of Casitas Springs and East Ojai Valley were ordered to leave in the most recent of mandatory evacuations. Live television showed multiple homes on Kailas Street and Alverstone Avenue being burned.

"We have extremely high winds, very low relative humidity and the fuel conditions are very dry," said Mark Lorenzen, chief of the Ventura County Fire Department. "Winds are pushing the fire west, and fortunately we have daylight and air tankers flying in, "in short order."

Typical of fall, the Santa Anas are spawned by high pressure over the Great Basin that sends air flowing toward Southern California where it speeds up as it squeezes down through mountain passes and canyons and blows out toward the coast.

Lorenzen told reporters on Tuesday an "aerial attack will concentrate on the flanks of the fire" but high winds could jeopardize the plan.

Crews from throughout the state were sent to the region to assist in tackling the fire. From the Bay Area, 10 engines comprising 44 firefighters from Marin County Fire, San Rafael, Ross Valley, and Tiburon left Tuesday morning to help contained the wildfire, Marin County Fire Battalion Chief Bret McTigue said.

Four Alameda County firefighters with Engine 304 and four firefighters from the Mountain View Fire Department who are part of the San Mateo County strike team were also deployed Tuesday morning.

The fire began Monday evening near Highway 150 and quickly spread to Santa Paula before moving on to Ventura County, which is about 75 miles north of the city of Los Angeles.

Mandatory Evacuations:

• Entire Community of Casitas Springs - Evacuate to Ventura County Fairgrounds - 10 West Harbor Blvd., Ventura
• City of Ventura - Teloma east to Brent Street, Telegraph Road north to north of Foothill Road
• East Ojai Valley - Carne Road east to McAndrew Road, Reeves Road north to Thacher Road

Voluntary Evacuations:

• Residents in the City of Ventura: South of Loma Vista; East of Day Road; West of Victoria Avenue; North of Telegraph Road; East of Victoria; North of Loma Vista; South of Foothill; West of Wells Road

• Residents in the city Fillmore: North of 2nd Street; East of Island View; North of 4th, North of Wood Grove; North of Country Court; East of A Street.

Evacuation Centers:

• Ventura County Fairgrounds at Miners Building (Includes an Animal Shelter for all types of animals.) at 10 W Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001
• Nordhoff High School at 1401 Maricopa Hwy, Ojai, CA 93023
• Oxnard College Gymnasium at 4000 S Rose Ave, Oxnard, CA 93033
• Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W Harbor Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001

School Closures:

• Ventura Unified School District
• Hueneme Elementary School District
• Santa Paula School Districts
• Ventura Community College
• Thomas Aquinas College
• Mesa Union School District
• Briggs School District
• Mupu School District
• Oxnard Elementary School District
• All Ventura County Office of Education Schools
• Santa Clara Elementary

Elsewhere in California, two fires were burning in Los Angeles County with one fire, the Rye Fire, expected to hit Ventura County on Tuesday night. San Bernardino County also saw three brush fires, one of which was started by rolls of paper falling off a truck.

Watch: California Fire Forces Thousands To Evacuate

This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.

--Patch editor Hoa Quach, Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report; Photos courtesy of Ventura County Fire Department