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Number Of Structures Lost To Thomas Fire Rises To 530; Containment Up To 15%

Smoke from the Thomas Fire blowing down from the mountains above Fillmore Saturday morning

There’s good news Saturday about efforts to contain the massive Thomas brush fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, with containment of the blaze rising from 10% to 15%.

The latest update on the acreage burned shows that it’s risen from 143,000 to 148,000 acres.

Meanwhile, the latest numbers show that more than 530 structures have been destroyed by the fire since it began Monday night, with the vast majority of the homes and other buildings lost believed to be in the City of Ventura. While Ojai was largely spared, a number of structures in the Matilija Canyon area were lost. Evacuation orders have been lifted for Santa Paula, the Ojai Valley, and much of the City of Ventura.

The fire now covers more than 230 square miles of land from west of Fillmore to east of Carpinteria, with the fire’s growth focused in wilderness areas on the northwestern side of the blaze.

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.