The powerful Santa Ana winds that fueled a five-day fire siege across Southern California this week began to ease Friday, but the destructive toll of the blazes continued to grow and firefighters will remain on high alert through the weekend.
The fires, which stretched from Ojai to Oceanside, destroyed more than 500 structures and forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. The smoke created air quality problems that officials said reached unprecedented levels in some areas.
As hot, dry Santa Anas faded, officials warned that breezes from the ocean could pick up, changing the direction of the flames, placing fire crews at higher risk of getting caught without an escape route.
A red flag warning — a combination of extremely low relative humidity and wind speeds that indicates a serious threat if a fire were to occur — is in effect through Sunday evening, said Tom Fisher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
President Trump on Friday approved a California emergency declaration, ordering federal aid to the area and putting the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in charge of relief efforts.
In northern San Diego County, the Lilac fire — which ignited Thursday off Interstate 15 — forced large swaths of Bonsall and Oceanside to evacuate. More than 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze, which held at 4,100 acres from the night before with 15% containment.
The Lilac fire destroyed at least 105 structures, including a number of mobile homes, authorities said Friday. Three people were injured, and 25 horses were killed at a thoroughbred training center.
“When a tornado hits the Midwest, there’s no stopping it. When a hurricane hits the East Coast, there’s no stopping it. When the Santa Ana winds come in, there’s no stopping them,” said Kendal Bortisser, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in San Diego.
In Los Angeles County, firefighters on Thursday night took advantage of the calmest winds they had seen in days.
The 15,619-acre Creek fire near Sylmar was 70% contained as of Friday night. At least 56 residences and 49 other structures were destroyed and an additional 45 residences and 25 other structures damaged.
The 475-acre Skirball fire in Bel-Air was 50% contained. Six houses were destroyed.
The Thomas fire in Ventura County was still the largest, spanning 143,000 acres from Santa Paula to the coast, with significant growth north of Ojai. It was 10% contained as of Friday night and had destroyed 476 structures.
More than 87,000 people had been evacuated because of the Thomas fire alone.
On Friday, the Ventura County medical examiner’s office identified a body found at the site of a car accident on Wheeler Canyon Road on Wednesday night as 70-year-old Virginia Pesola of Santa Paula, the only death in the Thomas fire to date.
She died of blunt-force injuries with terminal smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, officials said. The death is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol and the Major Crimes Unit of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
Besides the flames, there was another major issue for residents to contend with: terrible air quality.
Pollution in Ojai was off the charts, said Phil Moyer, an air quality specialist with the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.
“It’s the highest reading we’ve seen. It’s crazy numbers,” Moyer said.
The air quality index, a measurement of pollution in the air, is considered unhealthy at a rating of 151 or higher. The worst category is “hazardous” and covers ratings between 301 and 500, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Pollution levels in Ojai have been averaging over 500, with smoke from the Thomas fire trapped by the mountains that encircle the mountain town, Moyer said.
“Especially now that the Santa Anas have died down, there’s nothing to push the smoke out of the way, so it just kind of sits there,” he said.
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John Bain and Brandon Baker try to stop a fire from burning a stranger’s home in Ventura.
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A brush fire moving with the wind sends embers all over residential neighborhoods north of Ventura.
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A family packs up and evacuates as a brush fire gets closer to their home in Ventura.
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John Bain and his friends, all from Camarillo, came to help as brush fires move quickly through residential neighborhoods in Ventura.
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Strangers band together to help put out a palm tree on fire and stop it from burning homes.
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The Hawaiian Gardens apartments burn in Ventura.
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Residents help with the fire attack on Buena Vista Street in Ventura.
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Residents watch the Thomas fire on Prospect Street in Ventura.
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Firefighters are deployed to battle the fire in a Ventura neighborhood.
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A chimney is all that stands of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
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Remnants of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
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A home burns on a hillside overlooking Ventura.
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Palms are consumed in the Thomas fire.
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Emma Jacobson, 19, center, gets a hug from a neighbor after her family home was destroyed by fire in Ventura.
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Olivia Jacobson, 16, wipes tears as she looks at her family’s home, destroyed by the brush fire on Island View Drive in Ventura.
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Aerial view of the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
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Noah Alarcon carries a cage with the family cat while evacuating from Casitas Springs.
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Smoke from the Thomas fire crosses over Lake Casitas near Ojai.
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A Ventura County firefighter battles a blaze on Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
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Ventura County Firefighter Aaron Cohen catches his breath after fighting to save homes along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
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Aerial view of homes burned to the ground in the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
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A home between Via Baja and Foothill Road burns in Ventura.
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Amanda Leon and husband Johnny Leon watch as firefighters fight to save homes along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
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Chino Valley firefighters fight to save a home along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
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Embers continue to burn at sunset Tuesday in a home on Ridgecrest Court at Scenic Way in the Clearpoint neighborhood of Ventura.
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
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Firefighters try to protect homes from the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
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Edward Aguilar runs through the flames of the Thomas Fire to save his cats at his mobile home along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs in Ventura County.
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Jeff Lipscomb, left, Gabriel Lipscomb, 17, center, and Rachel Lipscomb, 11, look for items to recover from their burned home in Ventura.
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A traffic collision temporarily clogged lanes on the northbound 101 Freeway between Solimar and Faria Beaches as the Thomas fire burned in the hills.
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The Thomas fire burns towards the 101 Freeway and homes between Solimar and Faria Beaches.
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Fire personnel keep an eye on the Thomas fire on Toland Road near Santa Paula.
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A train on the Rincon coast passes a burning hillside from the Thomas fire.
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The Thomas fire burns along the 101 Freeway north of Ventura on Wednesday evening.
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire in the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
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A resident cries as the Thomas fire approaches the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
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Burned palm trees are left standing between the 101 Freeway and Faria Beach as the Thomas fire reaches the Pacific Ocean.
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Firefighters battle Thursday to protect the resort city of Ojai from encroaching flames.
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Casey Rodriquez helps a friend move belongings after the Thomas Fire destroyed most of an apartment building on North Kalarama in Ventura.
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A burnt-out bus near Maripoca Highway.
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The Thomas fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai.
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A huge plume of smoke rises north of Ventura as seen Sunday afternoon from the Ventura pier, as the Thomas fire threatens parts of Carpenteria and Montecito.
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The Thomas Fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai, Calif. on Friday.
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Residents react as they watch the Thomas Fire burn in the hills above La Conchita at 5 am Thursday moning.
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Mary McEwen and husband Dan Bellaart prepare to evacuate their home on Toro Canyon Road in Montecito as the Thomas fire burns.
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Carpenteria resident Chris Gayner, right, photographs a plane in the hills of Carpenteria.
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From left, residents Michael Desjardins, his neighbor Patty Rodriguez, daughter Mikayla, wife Veronica, mother in law Amanda Buzin, and son Mikey keep an eye on the Thomas fire in Carpenteria.
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Mary McEwen cheers as she sees fire crews make their way up a hill past her home on Toro Canyon Rd. in Montecito.
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Dan Bellaart and wife Mary McEwen comfort each other in the backyard of their home that includes an avocado ranch on 9 acres of land on Toro Canyon Road in Montecito, as the Thomas fire burns in the background.
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Carpinteria resident Jay Molnar, 55, mouth and nose protected against the smoke, views flames glowing in the hills above the city on Dec. 11, 2017.
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Sacramento firefighters battle a blaze in Toro Canyon in Carpenteria at dusk Tuesday.
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Josh Acosta, superintendent with Fulton Hotshots looks for ways to fight fire consuming a structure threatening two homes high up Toro Canyon in Carpenteria at dusk Tuesday.
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A motorcade passes on tHighway 126 carrying the body of a Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson, who died Thursday morning while battling the Thomas Fire.
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Santa Paula City officials, Police and Firefighters salute from a bridge as a motorcade passes on the Santa Paula Freeway 126 carrying the body of a Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson.
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Forest Service crews cut and clear dense brush for contingency lines off of East Camino Cielo in the Santa Ynez Mountains above Montecito and Santa Barbara to help stop the Thomas fire from advancing.
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A hotshot crew from Ojai marches towards their assignment to protect structures on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
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Firefighters monitor the flames Saturday from a staging area near Parma Park in Montecito.
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Flames slowly make their way down a valley behind a home in Montecito.
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Flames whip around power lines as they move through Sycamore Canyon on Saturday, threatening structures in Montecito.
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Smoke billows over Santa Barbara as the Thomas Fire continues to threaten the area on Saturday.
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Bill Shubin, deputy fire chief of the Santa Rosa Fire Department checks on flames burning near homes north of East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
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A fire truck pulls responds to fires burning near homes on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
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Brian Good, from US Forest Service, leans forward against the wind, and holds up a Kestrel to measure wind speeds up to 50 mph on Gibraltar Road in Montecito.
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A plume of smoke moves south as winds as high as 50 mph blow down Gibraltar Road on the west fork of Cold Spring Trail in Montecito.
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Flames and a big plume of smoke threaten homes on Gibraltar Road near Gibraltar Rock, outside Montecito.
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The sun rises as fire crews prepare for another day of fighting the Thomas Fire, in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday.
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An aircraft makes a water drop over a hot spot up in the mountain range at Gibraltar Rock near Montecito, Calif. on Sunday.
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Humboldt County firefighters Bobby Gray, left, hoses down smoldering flames inside a destroyed home, as Kellee Stoehr, right looks on, after the Thomas Fire burned in Montecito, Calif. on Sunday.
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A home on Park Hill Lane was destroyed by the Thomas fire in Montecito, Calif.
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Humboldt County firefighters Lonnie Risling, left, and Jimmy McHaffie, right, spray down smoldering fire underneath the rubble of a home that was destroyed by the Thomas Fire, in Montecito, Calif., Sunday.
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Fire crews help the Behrman family retrieve their family’s personal belongings out of their burned home, in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday.
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In the foreground of the ridges that were burned by the Thomas Fire, Rusty Smith stands outside his home that survived the flames that were kicked up by Saturday’s wind event and threatened his home in Flores Flats on Gibraltar Road, near Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) At the Casitas Shopping Center in Carpinteria, just above the Santa Barbara County line, more than 100 people stood in a queue to pick up masks as smoke and ash filled the air.
Among them was Gloria Rivera, who came to grab masks for herself, her husband, her two grandchildren — and her chihuahua, Mamba.
“I’m gonna try and put it on him,” she said.
Rivera said she lives in an area where voluntary evacuations have been issued. She left home Wednesday as a precaution but returned Thursday to check on her house and decided to stay there.
Hospitals across Southern California reported high numbers of patients showing up in emergency rooms with breathing problems. Health officials advise that people limit their outdoor activity, close windows, use air conditioning that recirculates inside air and wear N95 masks outside, which can protect from harmful particles.
On Friday afternoon, Jacklyn Mann, 29, sifted through the charred metal and debris where her house once stood, along with her brother Ben and her father, Roger.
They were some of the first residents on their block in Ventura, near Via Arroyo and Colina Vista, to return. They came back with one goal in mind: to salvage all the household items with sentimental value that they could.
“I found another one!” Jacklyn shouted to her dad.
In her hand was a dusty ceramic pinch pot that her other brother, Dixon Mann, made years ago in elementary school.
“Oh, cool! Sweet,” her father responded.
Lined on the side of their property were small items that the family had dug up that day, including Ben’s childhood swimming medals.
The family decided to spend their Friday digging after finding a Christmas ornament that belonged to Jacklyn. It had been hanging on the tree they had just decorated Monday.
At a Red Cross shelter at Nordhoff High School in Ojai, Ken Williams leaned back in a folding chair and flipped on the switch of an amateur radio console.
He’d spent each morning listening to the chatter on emergency response channels to get a sense of the fire’s behavior.
But something remarkable happened when Williams turned on the radio at daybreak Friday: Silence.
“Man, that’s a good thing,” said Williams, 71, who lives in an Ojai mobile home. “When the chatter calms down, it means things are definitely getting better.”
Sitting near Williams was John Wilson, 80, one of 118 people taking refuge at the school. Like many others, he was saddled with unanswered questions about the fate of his home — in his case just a mile west of the shelter.
“I sure am ready to go home,” said Wilson, who has lived in Ojai more than three decades.
“Having no idea what’s going to happen next is a brand new experience for me.”
Times staff writers Ruben Vives, Sonali Kohli and Joseph Serna contributed to this report.
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