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Firefighters Continue To Chip Away At Thomas Fire; Containment At 92%

(Los Padres National Forest photo)
Some of the Thomas Fire burn area in the Los Padres National Forest

Containment continues to move forward on the massive Thomas brush fire, which is still burning in backcountry areas.

Firefighters say despite temperatures 10-20 degrees above normal, efforts to fully corral the fire are going well. The amount of acreage burned has hovered at just under 282,000 acres for the last few days. Containment is now at 92%.

Hot spots continue to burn on the northeast corner of the blaze, but they are in rugged, inaccessible area. Smoke could be visible for several more days.

Federal and state teams are busy assessing the burn areas to try to identify the spots most at risk for flooding, debris flows, and other issues when rain finally occurs. Crews are also busy repairing some of the damage caused by firefighting efforts, like the clearing of land for helicopter landing spots.

The amount of people involved in the firefighting effort continues to be downsized, and is now less than 10% of what it was at the peak of the fire. Just over 600 people are currently assigned to the blaze.

The U.S. Forest Service has reopened some areas of the Los Padres National Forest closed by the fire. Only the Thomas Fire perimeter remains closed.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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