LOS ANGELES _ The massive Thomas fire, which has burned through Ventura County for over a week and entered Santa Barbara County over the weekend, has now scorched 234,200 acres and is 20 percent contained, fire officials said Tuesday.
The fire, which began Dec. 4, grew about 2,500 acres overnight as gusting winds pushed the flames down the slopes of the Santa Ynez Mountains and closer to homes in Montecito, a wealthy enclave in Santa Barbara County. Fire crews saved some mountainside homes from flames that tore through nearby Toro and Romero canyons, and specially outfitted helicopters dumped water through the night.
So far, 2.4 million gallons of water and 1.2 million gallons of fire retardant have been used to fight the Thomas fire, the fifth largest in state history.
The winds in Carpinteria were calm enough that firefighters intentionally set fire to some brush near homes to get rid of fuel that could feed an uncontrolled fire if winds pick up later this week.
The burn operation led to dramatic flames engulfing the hills behind Carpinteria High School on Monday night.
"Firefighters can burn that fuel on their own terms," said Matthew Chambers, an engineer with the Sequoia National Forest and a public information officer on the Thomas fire.
He said hand crews and bulldozers are focusing on digging fire lines around the western front of the fire near Montecito.
Winds are expected to stay calm Tuesday but weak sundowner winds that blow downhill toward the ocean are expected Friday, Chambers said.
The spread of the flames slowed Monday as winds calmed and the fire reached areas that had burned about a decade ago, reducing the available fuel. Winds are expected to slow, at least on the Ventura side, again on Tuesday and stay about the same for Santa Barbara County, according to forecasters.
Firefighters have been taking advantage of the calmer winds this week, using aircraft to make drops and working on fire lines. While the blaze grew by more than 50,000 acres Sunday, chewing through steep slopes and canyons that haven't burned for decade, it seemed to slow as firefighters began to gain a handle on the fire.
For Tuesday, Santa Barbara is looking at north to northeast winds sustained 8 to 15 miles an hour, gusting up to 25 mph in the ridge tops. For the valleys, north to northeast winds of 4 to 8 mph were forecast, gusting up 15 mph.
On the Ventura side, winds will be northeast to east, sustained 12 to 20 mph, gusting up to 30. On Monday, Ventura had gusts up to 40 mph. And in the valleys, 8 to 15 mph, gusting to 25.
"Ventura went down quite a bit," said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service. "It went down like 10 on the gusts. ... Ten miles an hour, that's a lot _ especially if they're out there fighting the fires."
Winds are likely to decline further Wednesday, Seto said.
