The Thomas fire has been burning for 11 days now and has grown to be the 4th largest fire in California’s history. The fire has consumed 242,500 acres and is currently 30 percent contained. This is a relative number since the Santa Ana winds have the capability of moving the fire quickly, jumping over containment lines, but firefighters seem to be continuing to gain some ground with this fire. Overnight the fire spread due to strong Santa Ana winds, quickly spreading into Ventura where more than 500 structures were destroyed. Firefighting resources will continue to focus on the western side of the fire, above the coastal communities in Santa Barbara County engaging in defending structures in the fire’s path. The fire at present continues to threaten the communities of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito and surrounding areas.
NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of the Thomas Fire on December 13, 2017. Actively burning areas detected by MODIS’s thermal bands are outlined in red. Such hot spots are diagnostic for fire when they are accompanied by smoke. These hot spots are accompanied by copious amounts of smoke coming off the fire and trending northward. NASA image courtesy NASA Worldview application operated by the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) project. Caption by Lynn Jenner with information from Inciweb.