Evacuation orders for the city of Ventura were lifted. Emergency officials announced that the same fire that was burning about 25 miles (40 kilometres) southeast of Montecito was 40 percent contained. Just firefighters." There was a spot of good news down the coast. It was very, very frightening." The city, according to Henry, became an eerie scene devoid of people except for firefighters and as many as 50 firefighter trucks. All the ashes and the dust on the street were in the air. "You couldn't breathe at all and it became worse when the wind started. He estimated the fire was about a mile away. Pierre Henry, owner of the Bree'osh Bakery in Montecito, said he got a text to evacuate Saturday morning as the fire approached homes. It was not clear if the former talk show host was in Montecito. Winds picked up this morning creating a perfect storm of bad for firefighters," Winfrey tweeted. Known for its star power, the enclave boasts the mansions of Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and many other celebrities. kilometre Thomas Fire was moving rapidly westward and crested Montecito Peak, just north of Montecito. Highway 101, coming up the coast from Los Angeles, were closed for a few hours south of Santa Barbara, with cars stopped on the freeway. The city's zoo was under voluntary evacuation, and workers there began putting some animals into crates and kennels as a precaution. A portion of Santa Barbara also was under mandatory evacuation. Firefighters stood by yellow fire trucks with hoses unspooled, ready to protect the historic San Ysidro Ranch as heavy smoke rose from the coastal hills, blotting out the blue skies. The mandatory evacuations around Montecito and neighbouring Summerland on the outskirts of Santa Barbara came as winds that had eased a day earlier roared back at around 48 kph, with gusts to about 97 kph. The state of emergency is meant to unlock state resources and allow firefighters from other states to help crews battling the fires in California, according to the governor’s office.ĬNN’s Michelle Watson and David Williams contributed to this report.Residents piled into cars and fled on Saturday as surging winds drove one of the biggest fires in California's history toward the wealthy coastal enclave of Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles. Two other fires burning in Siskiyou County – the China 2 and Evans fires – merged and together burned more than 300 acres, prompting evacuation warnings for more than 200 residents, according to the governor’s office. “Abundant lightning” is expected through Monday, as well as scattered thunderstorms, which “could contribute to fire spread” but could also bring “locally significant wetting rainfall” in some areas, the weather service said.įirefighters were forced to shift their tactics “from an offensive perimeter control effort” to more of a defensive posture to assist with evacuations Saturday morning, an InciWeb report notes. Residents within the evacuation zone are being asked to “please leave immediately.”Ībout 60 people were evacuated from the Pacific Crest Trail on Saturday due to the McKinney Fire, the Jackson County Sheriff’s office in Oregon said on its verified Facebook page, noting the hikers were rescued from the “California side of the Red Buttes Wilderness.” The Pacific Crest Trail runs from the Mexican border through California, Oregon, and Washington to Canada, according to the forest service.Ī red flag warning, which indicates dangerous fire conditions, is in effect in the area through Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service. Siskiyou county has a population of just about 44,000, according to the US Census Bureau.Ī mandatory evacuation order was announced for parts of Siskiyou County on Saturday, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.
The Klamath National Forest lists the cause of the fire as under investigation.
The McKinney fire started on Friday in Siskiyou County near the California-Oregon border, about four hours north of Sacramento. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency Saturday for Siskiyou County, saying the blaze has threatened critical infrastructure and forced nearly 2,000 residents to flee their homes. The fire, known as the McKinney fire, has burned more than 51,000 acres as of Sunday afternoon, according to CAL FIRE. A wildfire raging in Northern California was exacerbated by winds from thunderstorms this weekend, causing significant growth, officials said.
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