Thomas Fire temporarily shuts down Hwy. 101, grows to 96,000 acres overnight

Update 12:30 p.m.:

The Ventura County Fire Department has extended red flag warnings for Ventura and Los Angeles counties through Saturday.

The agency tweeted at noon that Santa Ana winds with gusts between 50 and 70 mph will be experienced in wind-prone areas of those counties through Thursday, with isolated gusts of 80 mph in the mountainous regions.

Humidity values also continue to be in the single digits, leaving a high potential for rapid fire growth, as well as downed trees and power lines.

Original Story:

The Thomas Fire grew to 96,000 acres overnight and is still 5 percent contained, Ventura County fire officials said.

The fire reached Highway 101 overnight, and Cal Fire shut the road down between Highway 150 and Highway 126 early Thursday morning. By 7:15 a.m., all lanes was reopened, Caltrans said.

“The fire continues to burn actively with extreme rates of spread and long range spotting when pushed by winds,” officials said on the Ventura County emergency website Thursday morning.

Santa Barbara County issued mandatory evacuation orders for 300 residents in the Carpinteria area about 1:45 a.m.

There will be no Amtrak train service from Santa Barbara to Ventura on Thursday, Caltrans said. There were also closures along Route 150 and Route 33; by 7:45 a.m., all lanes were open on Route 33, according to Caltrans.

Updating information on evacuations and road closures, as well as how to donate to fire victims, can be found at readyventuracounty.org or the Cal Fire incident page.

2,500 personnel are currently working on the fire, Ventura County fire officials said.

Fire officials reported early this week that 150 structures had been destroyed, but expected that number to grow. About 15,000 structures are threatened.

The fire ignited Monday evening and, pushed by strong winds, spread rapidly without containment. Crews managed to contain 5 percent of the blaze by late Wednesday night.

It’s the largest active fire in California, but there are several others burning in Southern California this week.

As of Thursday morning: The Rye Fire west of Valencia is 7,000 acres and 15 percent contained, and the Skirball Fire in the Bel-Air neighborhood was 475 acres with 5 percent containment. The Creek Fire north of Lake View Terrace was 12,605 acres and 5 percent contained late Wednesday night.

U-Haul and San Luis Obispo-based company Meathead Movers are offering fire victims 30 days of free storage.

Noozhawk.com contributed to this story.

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 7:26 AM with the headline "Thomas Fire temporarily shuts down Hwy. 101, grows to 96,000 acres overnight."