Thomas Fire becomes largest wildfire in California's history
The Thomas Fire continues to burn after becoming the largest blaze in California history.
Since starting on Dec. 4, the Thomas Fire killed one firefighter, one civilian and destroyed more than 1,000 structures, including more than 750 homes. The flames forced thousands of evacuations and numerous schools to close.
On Wednesday, Dec. 27, CalFire reported that the total area burned was holding near 281,620 acres and fire was 89 percent contained.
A few days earlier, the fire surpassed the Cedar Fire from October 2003, which burned more than 273,246 acres.
Several episodes of strong winds spread the blaze earlier this month, which is unusual since massive wildfires are rare by this point of the year.
A wind event occurred from Wednesday night to Friday morning prior to Christmas and added acreage to the already massive amount of countryside burned.
Firefighters monitor the Thomas Fire as it burns through Los Padres National Forest near Ojai, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
While winds are forecast to remain relatively light this week, much of the time the air will remain very dry over the region through the holidays.
Even during episodes of light winds, the only minute amount of moisture in the air will have to come from the nearby Pacific Ocean in the form of a marine layer or lower temperatures at night.
No significant rain is in the forecast for Southern California through the first week of January.
Report a Typo
