SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Firefighters monitor a section of the Thomas Fire along the 101 freeway on December 7, 2017 north of Ventura, California. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
'It's a Monster': California's Thomas Fire Now Largest in State History
The blaze has now torn through more than 273,400 acres of land and destroyed over a thousand structures
Dec 23, 2017
California's Thomas Fire has been raging for just over two weeks in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and it has already torn through hundreds of homes, more than a thousand structures, and over 273,400 acres of land. Now, as the Los Angeles Times reported late Friday, the fire has also burnt "its way into the history books," becoming the largest blaze ever recorded in the state's history.
"What should make Southern California fearful is that climate change could mean a future of more frequent and more intense wildfires."
--Los Angeles Times Editorial Board
"The fire eclipsed the 2003 Cedar fire in San Diego County, which burned 273,246 acres," the Times notes.
"The Thomas Fire has burned an area larger than New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco combined--and larger than any city in California except Los Angeles," adds CNN's Nicole Chavez.
As of Friday night, the fire was just 65 percent contained, and firefighters are expected to be working around the clock until mid-January. President Donald Trump has yet to issue a major disaster declaration for Southern California.
"It's a monster," Santa Barbara County Fire Division Chief Martin Johnson told ABC News. "We all recognize that. But, we will kill it."
Fueled by powerful winds and extraordinarily dry conditions, the Thomas Fire is just one of many blazes that have ravaged California in recent weeks, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate and killing dozens.
Friday's "milestone reaffirmed 2017 as the most destructive fire season ever in the state," the Times observes, highlighting a series of fires in the state's wine country that destroyed more than 10,000 homes in October. Meteorologist Eric Holthaus has described the conditions surrounding California's fires as "once-in-a-generation."
Making the Thomas fire's strength even more striking, environmentalist and author Bill McKibben noted, is the fact that it broke out "in December, months after the traditional end of fire season."
\u201cThe largest wildfire in California history has occurred in December. #ThomasFire https://t.co/m0xU3SDQZO\u201d— USFS Fire-California (@USFS Fire-California) 1513999698
Earlier this month, just days after the Thomas fire kicked off, the Los Angeles Times editorial board starkly warned that the unprecedented 2017 fire season could quickly become the new normal if action isn't taken to address and mitigate the human-caused climate crisis.
"What should make Southern California fearful is that climate change could mean a future of more frequent and more intense wildfires," the Times concluded. "Today's fires will end, and what we do afterward--assessing how to better prepare, and how and whether to rebuild--will influence the damage from the fires next time."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
California's Thomas Fire has been raging for just over two weeks in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and it has already torn through hundreds of homes, more than a thousand structures, and over 273,400 acres of land. Now, as the Los Angeles Times reported late Friday, the fire has also burnt "its way into the history books," becoming the largest blaze ever recorded in the state's history.
"What should make Southern California fearful is that climate change could mean a future of more frequent and more intense wildfires."
--Los Angeles Times Editorial Board
"The fire eclipsed the 2003 Cedar fire in San Diego County, which burned 273,246 acres," the Times notes.
"The Thomas Fire has burned an area larger than New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco combined--and larger than any city in California except Los Angeles," adds CNN's Nicole Chavez.
As of Friday night, the fire was just 65 percent contained, and firefighters are expected to be working around the clock until mid-January. President Donald Trump has yet to issue a major disaster declaration for Southern California.
"It's a monster," Santa Barbara County Fire Division Chief Martin Johnson told ABC News. "We all recognize that. But, we will kill it."
Fueled by powerful winds and extraordinarily dry conditions, the Thomas Fire is just one of many blazes that have ravaged California in recent weeks, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate and killing dozens.
Friday's "milestone reaffirmed 2017 as the most destructive fire season ever in the state," the Times observes, highlighting a series of fires in the state's wine country that destroyed more than 10,000 homes in October. Meteorologist Eric Holthaus has described the conditions surrounding California's fires as "once-in-a-generation."
Making the Thomas fire's strength even more striking, environmentalist and author Bill McKibben noted, is the fact that it broke out "in December, months after the traditional end of fire season."
\u201cThe largest wildfire in California history has occurred in December. #ThomasFire https://t.co/m0xU3SDQZO\u201d— USFS Fire-California (@USFS Fire-California) 1513999698
Earlier this month, just days after the Thomas fire kicked off, the Los Angeles Times editorial board starkly warned that the unprecedented 2017 fire season could quickly become the new normal if action isn't taken to address and mitigate the human-caused climate crisis.
"What should make Southern California fearful is that climate change could mean a future of more frequent and more intense wildfires," the Times concluded. "Today's fires will end, and what we do afterward--assessing how to better prepare, and how and whether to rebuild--will influence the damage from the fires next time."
California's Thomas Fire has been raging for just over two weeks in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and it has already torn through hundreds of homes, more than a thousand structures, and over 273,400 acres of land. Now, as the Los Angeles Times reported late Friday, the fire has also burnt "its way into the history books," becoming the largest blaze ever recorded in the state's history.
"What should make Southern California fearful is that climate change could mean a future of more frequent and more intense wildfires."
--Los Angeles Times Editorial Board
"The fire eclipsed the 2003 Cedar fire in San Diego County, which burned 273,246 acres," the Times notes.
"The Thomas Fire has burned an area larger than New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco combined--and larger than any city in California except Los Angeles," adds CNN's Nicole Chavez.
As of Friday night, the fire was just 65 percent contained, and firefighters are expected to be working around the clock until mid-January. President Donald Trump has yet to issue a major disaster declaration for Southern California.
"It's a monster," Santa Barbara County Fire Division Chief Martin Johnson told ABC News. "We all recognize that. But, we will kill it."
Fueled by powerful winds and extraordinarily dry conditions, the Thomas Fire is just one of many blazes that have ravaged California in recent weeks, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate and killing dozens.
Friday's "milestone reaffirmed 2017 as the most destructive fire season ever in the state," the Times observes, highlighting a series of fires in the state's wine country that destroyed more than 10,000 homes in October. Meteorologist Eric Holthaus has described the conditions surrounding California's fires as "once-in-a-generation."
Making the Thomas fire's strength even more striking, environmentalist and author Bill McKibben noted, is the fact that it broke out "in December, months after the traditional end of fire season."
\u201cThe largest wildfire in California history has occurred in December. #ThomasFire https://t.co/m0xU3SDQZO\u201d— USFS Fire-California (@USFS Fire-California) 1513999698
Earlier this month, just days after the Thomas fire kicked off, the Los Angeles Times editorial board starkly warned that the unprecedented 2017 fire season could quickly become the new normal if action isn't taken to address and mitigate the human-caused climate crisis.
"What should make Southern California fearful is that climate change could mean a future of more frequent and more intense wildfires," the Times concluded. "Today's fires will end, and what we do afterward--assessing how to better prepare, and how and whether to rebuild--will influence the damage from the fires next time."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.