The huge Thomas brush fire burning in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties continues to mushroom in size, passing the 230,000 acre market and triggering yet more evacuation orders.
The fire burned tens of thousands of acres in less than 24 hours as it pushed west. Firefighters say some of the fuel in the mountains above Carpinteria and Summerland hasn't burned for decades. The fire dropped from 15% to 10% containment.
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for the area from Highway 192 to the mountains north of Carpinteria. As Sunday went on, the mandatory evacuation orders above 192 were extended east to first the Montecito, and then the Santa Barbara areas.
The latest mandatory evacuation orders are for north of Highway 192 to East Camino Cielo between Highway 150 and Mission Canyon Road. More than 90,000 people are now in evacuation zones.
Voluntary evacuation warnings include the area south of Highway 192 to East Camino Cielo between Mission Canyon and Highway 154. Residents in voluntary evacuation warning areas need to be prepared to leave in a moment’s notice. An evacuation shelter is open at the UC Santa Barbara Recreational Center.
