Firefighters say they made big progress Friday in efforts to control the massive Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, leading to some evacuation orders being lifted.
They are reporting no major problems on the perimeters of the fire. The blaze grew to 143,000 acres, and remains at 10% containment.
Evacuation orders have been lifted for Santa Paula, the unincorporated area between Santa Paula and Ventura, and parts of the City of Ventura. All mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders have been lifted in Ventura except for north of West Main St and East of Highway 33, and neighborhoods north of Poli Street and Foothill Road.
However, weather remains a major concern for firefighters, with potentially dangerous fire conditions in the forecast through the weekend. Officials released more specifics about the structures destroyed. In the City of Ventura, 158 homes were destroyed, and 104 damaged. In other parts of the county, 18 homes have been confirmed destroyed, and four damaged. An estimated 476 structures in total were destroyed.
