Days of raging fires in southern California have consumed some 170,000 acres, and have resulted in massive property damage. With some restrictions lifted in Ventura County, the Thomas fire has entered Santa Barbara County, threatening the towns of Carpenteria and Montecito, where mandatory evacuation orders have been issued. Santa Barbara is just up the coast and just south of Los Padres National Forest, parts of which are ablaze. Some 80,000 people have already been evacuated.
Some 8,500 firefighters are working around the clock to contain the fires, which are only 15% contained, as the Santa Ana winds continue to stoke the flames. Hotter temperatures and drier conditions linked to global climate change have contributed to the abnormal fire season. However, California Governor Jerry Brown ominously warned that these annual fires are the "new normal," saying:
“This could be something that happens every year or every few years. We’re about to have a firefighting Christmas.”Here's hoping he's wrong.
(photos: top: smoke engulfs Santa Barbara yesterday, making it appear like a vintage sepia, via a family friend; bottom: U.S. Forest Service crews battle fires in the Rose Valley Recreation Area in the Los Padres National Forest, Los Angeles Daily News)
