By: Kyle James | 12-06-2017 | News
Photo credit: Ryan Cullom/ Ventura County Fire Department

Tens Of Thousands Now Forced To Evacuate As California Fire Rages On

Four massive fires are raging in Southern California forcing tens of thousands to evacuate their homes Tuesday. The recent blazes are just the latest chapter in one of the worst fire seasons in the state's history.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Unbelievable conditions <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CreekFire?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CreekFire</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LACoFDPIO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LACoFDPIO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LAWind?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LAWind</a> <a href="https://t.co/QGnYV1vRwF">pic.twitter.com/QGnYV1vRwF</a></p>&mdash; Michael Dubron (@MichaelDubron) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelDubron/status/938100732565143552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2017</a></blockquote>

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The initial fire began in Ventura County Monday night, by Tuesday night it was still "out of control", according to fire officials. The second fire has been dubbed the Thomas Fire after rapidly spreading overnight to envelope 50,000 more acres. The Thomas Fire has already destroyed land, hundreds of structures and it's threatening to burn whole communities.

<img src="https://media.8ch.net/file_store/1d83c6442f94e561e84a6bb412618dd9b498f736d500885723dbca1c5296b7e6.jpg" style="max-height:640px;max-width:360px;">

<span style="margin-top:15px;rgba(42,51,6,0.7);font-size:12px;">Credit: Ventura County Fire Department</span>

27,000 people were forced to evacuate from the city of Ventura, as several more fires sprung up Tuesday. A third started in Los Angeles County and has already burned more than 11,000 acres, it also claimed more than 30 structures. The fourth is in San Bernardino County, it too has damaged 100 acres and destroyed over 30 structures.

Fire officials are still working to determine the cause of the fires. Anne Forsyth, an administrator at Thomas Aquinas College, said, "You look at your window and see flames, you know you have to go." Thomas Aquinas College is less than three miles from where the Ventura County fire began.

Forsyth recalled the shocking speed with which the fires spread, "The speed with which this spread, I’ve never seen that before,” Ms. Forsyth said. “I don’t think anyone here had seen that before." Officials have attributed the spread of the fire to dry conditions and fierce winds coming together to make the perfect firestorm.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Ventura County saying, "This fire is very dangerous and spreading rapidly, but we’ll continue to attack it with all we’ve got. It’s critical residents stay ready and evacuate immediately if told to do so."

Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti, warned residents the weather conditions could stoke the fire for another five days with Thursday said to be especially disastrous. Garcetti also said, "It’s a very difficult moment, but we will get through this. We are a resilient city, we are a strong city, we are a capable city."

So far California has seen some of the worst fires in the state's history this year, some claimed many lives and homes leaving entire cities nothing but flattened rubble.

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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/us/california-fire.html

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