Thomas Fire surpasses 200,000 acres; evacuations expand in Santa Barbara County
Update: 8 p.m.
Cal Fire reports that the Thomas Fire is now 230,000 acres and 10 percent contained.
Original story
Santa Barbara County officials expanded evacuations Sunday, as the Thomas Fire scorched more than 200,000 acres.
The mandatory evacuation area was expanded to include city areas east of Mission Canyon and north of Highway 192/Foothill Road, as well as the area between Olive Mill Road and San Ysidro Road on the north side of Highway 101.
The voluntary evacuation zone was also expanded to include areas south of Highway 192, from the Mission Canyon area to the county line with Ventura County.
At a community meeting Sunday afternoon, Santa Barbara County Fire Battalion Chief Chris Childers said the voluntary evacuation area would expand to include parts of the city of Santa Barbara north of Highway 192/Foothill Road and east of Highway 154.
Earlier, evacuation areas stretched across the Carpinteria Valley and eastern Montecito. An interactive map of the evacuation areas can be found here.
A firefighter suffered a broken leg Sunday while battling the blaze in Carpinteria, and was taken by AMR ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
His name and details on his condition were not available.
Throughout Sunday, the blaze was also was burning very aggressively toward the west on the north side of the Santa Ynez Mountains, and in the Rose Valley area north of Ojai.
The fire prompted school districts in the Santa Maria area to cancel classes Monday due to poor air quality. District staff were also told to stay home.
“We’ve not done this in my tenure in the district,” said Santa Maria-Bonita spokeswoman Maggie White, who has worked for the district for 21 years. “(It’s) very unusual.”
Lucia Mar Unified School District said Sunday evening that they planned to remain open Monday, but would be operate on a “rainy-day” schedule to limit exposure to the air.
UC Santa Barbara announced Sunday that fall quarter final exams would be rescheduled for the week of Jan. 8 due to the fire.
And the fire impacted celebrities, too: Ellen DeGeneres tweeted that her home was threatened by the blaze and she had to evacuate her pets. Actor Rob Lowe, who also lives in the area, said Sunday morning that he was packing to evacuate.
Smoke from the fire was seen throughout San Luis Obispo County. Ash from the fire was reported falling in Arroyo Grande, Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo. The SLO County Public Health Department said Sunday that the smoke particles were largely contained in the upper atmosphere and did not pose a health risk, though the agency added that could change based on weather, wind and the fire’s progress.
Though N95 masks are being distributed in Santa Barbara County, the Public Health Department said that level of protection was not necessary for SLO County residents at this time.
“Health officials are closely following the situation and contingency plans are in place to distribute masks as needed,” the Public Health Department said in a statement.
SLO County residents can find updates on air quality conditions at www.slocleanair.org. Updates from the Public Health Department can be found by calling their information line at 805-788-2903.
Noozhawk.com North County editor Janene Scully contributed to this story.
Gabby Ferreira: 805-781-7858, @Its_GabbyF
This story was originally published December 10, 2017 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Thomas Fire surpasses 200,000 acres; evacuations expand in Santa Barbara County."