Oprah Winfrey has said that winds are creating a ‘perfect storm of bad’ as massive wildfires bear down on her celebrity enclave in California.
Santa Barbara County issued new evacuation orders on Saturday for Oprah’s home in Montecito and other communities in the area, as winds pushed the fire close to the wealthy enclave.
The Thomas Fire, now the third largest in California history, has now burned more than 400 square miles and is just 40 per cent contained.
The mandatory evacuation zone is now 17 miles long and up to 5 miles wide, extending from coastal mountains northwest of Los Angeles to the ocean.
Winds in the foothill area are hitting around 30 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph.
‘Still praying for our little town. Winds picked up this morning creating a perfect storm of bad for firefighters,’ Oprah said on Twitter.
A Hot Shot crew cuts a line among homes at the Thomas Fire on on Saturday in Montecito, California. The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings of dangerous fire weather in Southern California for the duration of the weekend
Fire passes between homes at the Thomas Fire on Saturday in Montecito, which has been ordered completely evacuated
Actor Rob Lowe, who lives in the area, posted an Instagram photo of the flames behind his house on Saturday morning
Oprah (left) lives in Montecito, which is under mandatory evacuation. Her home is seen right in a file photo
An Engine Company from Portland, Oregon provides structure protection to a home on San Ysidro Road during continued efforts to fight the Thomas Fire in Montecito on Saturday
The current evacuation map as of noon Saturday is seen. Thousands have fled as Montecito came under mandator evacuation and voluntary evacuation zones were extended into downtown Santa Barbara
The Thomas Fire, now the third largest in California history, has now burned more than 400 square miles (Saturday map)
Actor Rob Lowe, who also lives in the area posted an Instagram photo of his house on Saturday morning with a fierce inferno whipping the hills behind it. ‘Pray for Santa Barbara,’ he wrote.
Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and one of the thousands of firefighters on the lines was killed Thursday.
The inferno began December 4 in Ventura County and spread into Santa Barbara County, destroying more than 970 homes and other structures.
On Saturday afternoon, calming winds gave firefighters a chance to gain ground against the fire, but forecasters warned that the respite from gusts will only be temporary.
The new voluntary evacuation zone extends into downtown Santa Barbara, and now includes the Santa Barbara Zoo.
‘Some animals are going into crates and being staged for possible evacuation to predetermined locations. Staff has training and transportation. We DO NOT need public assistance. Do not come to the Zoo. Stay safe,’ the zoo said in a statement on Saturday morning.
The northbound lanes of US Highway 101, coming up the coast from Los Angeles, were closed for a few hours south of Santa Barbara, with cars stopped on the freeway.
Fires burn towards Cold Springs Trail as down canyon winds increase near Montecito, California on Saturday
Fire engines provide structure protection at the historic San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito on Saturday
Fire trucks are seen staged near the intersection of Ashley Road and East Mountain Drive near Montecito on Saturday
Fire trucks are staged near the intersection of Ashley Road and East Mountain Drive near Montecito on Saturday
A helicopter drops fire retardant onto a hillside on Friday in San Ysidro Canyon in Montecito
The 404-square-mile Thomas Fire was moving rapidly westward and crested Montecito Peak, just north of Montecito. Known for its star power, the enclave boasts the mansions of Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and many other celebrities.
‘It is right above the homes,’ fire spokesman Jude Olivas said.
Pierre Henry, owner of the Bree’osh Bakery in Montecito, said he got a text to evacuate Saturday morning as the fire approached homes. He estimated the fire was about a mile away.
‘The worst was the smoke,’ Henry said. ‘You couldn’t breathe at all and it became worse when the wind started. All the ashes and the dust on the street were in the air. It was very, very frightening.’
The city, according to Henry, became an eerie scene devoid of people except for firefighters and as many as 50 firefighter trucks.
‘We left everything,’ Henry said. ‘There is nobody in Montecito. Just firefighters.’
There was a spot of good news down the coast. Emergency officials announced that the same fire that was burning about 25 miles southeast of Montecito was 40 percent contained. Evacuation orders for the city of Ventura were lifted.
Flames from a back fire set to help battle a fire behind a home during continuing efforts to fight the Thomas Fire on East Camino Cielo above Montecito on Friday
Flames from a back fire set to help battle a fire behind a home off Ladera Lane near Bella Vista Drive during continuing efforts to fight the Thomas Fire on East Camino Cielo above Montecito on Thursday
As the northerly ‘sundowner’ wind was driving the fire south and west, firefighters were left to hope for them to calm back down.
‘When the sundowners surface in that area and the fire starts running down slopes, you are not going to stop it,’ Mark Brown, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told a news conference. ‘And we are not going to stand in front of it and put firefighters in untenable situations.’
For the 13th straight day, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning of extreme fire danger because of hot, dry, windy conditions.
The fire is now the third-largest in California history. It has burned more than 700 homes and killed a state firefighter.
Cory Iverson, 32, died Thursday from burns and smoke inhalation, according to autopsy results announced Saturday by the Ventura County medical examiner’s office. Details of his death were not released.
Flames from a back fire set to help battle a fire behind a home off Ladera Lane near Bella Vista Drive during continuing efforts to fight the Thomas Fire on East Camino Cielo above Montecito on Thursday
Since the fire began on Dec. 4, about 95,000 people have been placed under mandatory evacuation. The evacuation zone near Santa Barbara on Saturday was 17 miles long and up to 5 miles wide.
The Santa Barbara Zoo, which is near the mandatory evacuation zone, announced it was putting some animals in crates to prepare for possible evacuation. The zoo has about 150 species of animals, including a pair of Amur leopards, a critically endangered species. Workers began putting vultures, California condors and some smaller animals into crates and kennels in case the fire approached.
‘Everything is fine right now. The wind has shifted in our favor,’ spokesman Dean Noble said. ‘However, we just don’t want to get caught by something unexpected.’
Other zoos are ready to accept the evacuated animals, he said. The Fresno zoo has an incubator available for a baby giant anteater, and the San Diego zoo is prepared to accept the Amur leopards and other cats, Noble said.
Everything about the fire has been massive, from the sheer scale of destruction that cremated entire neighborhoods to the legions attacking it: about 8,300 firefighters from nearly a dozen states, aided by 78 bulldozers and 29 helicopters.
The cause remains under investigation. So far, firefighting costs have surpassed $100 million.