The massive Thomas brush fire on the South Coast has crossed from Ventura County into Santa Barbara County in the mountains north of Carpinteria, but firefighters say they are continuing to make progress in the battle against it.
Residents of Carpinteria and Summerland may see some fire activity Saturday night through Sunday morning, and officials say the fire will seem closer than it actually is during the night.
The fire grew to 155,000 acres Saturday, and remained at 15% containment. Firefighters conducted a number of controlled burns to try to limit the fire’s growth. They say that most of the expansion was into wilderness areas to the north, and west.
Because of the blaze expanding in the Los Padres National Forest, Forest Service officials closed the Ojai, Santa Barbara and Mt. Pinos Ranger Districts to the public.
Meanwhile, evacuation orders were ended for some areas, including Santa Paula, unincorporated parts of the county between Santa Paula and Ventura, and some parts of the City of Ventura.
