Thomas Fire Now Largest Wildfire In CA History

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA -- A fire that has been burning since Dec. 4 in Southern California is now the largest wildfire in state history, standing at 273,400 acres as of Saturday morning. The fire, which isn't expected to be fully contained until next year, surpassed the Cedar Fire, which burned for 12 days and was fully contained at 273,246 acres.

The Thomas Fire, which began in Ventura County before making its way to Santa Barbara County, was 65 percent contained as of Saturday morning.

Fire officials said the fire has destroyed more than 1,000 structures and damaged 280 other structures. Structures are still threatened in the area. It has killed one CalFire engineer and one Ventura resident.

All mandatory evacuations were lifted this week, although some voluntary evacuations remained in place.

--Photo: In this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, fire burns canyons and ridges above Bella Vista Drive near Romero Canyon as the fight to contain a wildfire continues in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. (Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP)

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