Five Days of Smoke and Fire in Southern California
Six major fires are burning across Southern California. They began Monday and many are still raging.
Five Days of Smoke and Fire in Southern California
By JENNIFER MEDINA DEC. 8, 2017
Six major fires are burning across Southern California. They began Monday and many are still raging.
I am a reporter based in Los Angeles, where more than 100,000 acres have burned.
It’s hard to underestimate how many helicopters and planes are in the skies right now. In burned neighborhoods, you can see the pink splatter of fire retardant on cars and driveways.
The winding roads were difficult to navigate, clouded with a thick dark gray-brown haze, and at times, flames on either side.
One airline passenger caught the scale of the Thomas Fire burning outside Ventura. It’s the biggest fire, and only 10 percent under control.
Patricia Hampton is one those affected by the massive Ventura fire. More than 200,000 people have been told to evacuate. Her family woke up to “what we thought was rain pelting the roof.”
The sound was actually embers and debris falling on their home. “Whenever I think about it, I start crying,” Ms. Hampton said.
On the ranches of Ventura County, farmers are worried about their animals. At least 54 animals have perished in the fires, and the number is likely to rise.
Greg Coulson in Upper Ojai has 17 horses in his care. “Water is my biggest concern.”
South of Ojai, in Sylmar, winds were reaching up to 80 miles per hour, making it difficult for residents trying to contain fires with only their garden hoses.
Many homes were consumed by the fires. This one is in Ventura. A smaller fire, outside the Bel-Air neighborhood, is mostly contained but burned several mansions.
Firefighters have been arriving from as far north as the Oregon border. “You can feel the heat even through our gear,” said Allen Janzen, a Los Angeles firefighter. “I don’t get nervous, but I get adrenaline.”
It’s not over yet. The newest danger was in San Diego County, where a new fire had exploded to more than 4,000 acres and sent horses stampeding out of the San Luis Rey Downs horse-training center.
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