Ventura County fire grows to 96,000 acres, shuts down Hwy. 101
Major fires in Southern California grew overnight by several thousands of acres and shut down part of Highway 101 as firefighters braced for a brutal winds expected to pick up by midmorning and make containment more difficult.
The largest fire, the Thomas Fire in Ventura County, had grown to 96,000 acres by Thursday morning, and is only 5 percent contained. More evacuations were ordered Wednesday night in Ojai and the surrounding valley, as the flames threatened to move toward the mountain retreat town. At least 15,000 structures are at risk of being burned, according to the California Department of Forestry Fire Protection.
The infamous Santa Ana winds area forecast to pick up around 8 a.m.