Ventura (December 17, 2017): A raging wildfire powered by fierce winds grew into the third-largest in state history on Saturday forcing evacuations turned neighborhoods into ghost towns and ash fell in some areas like heavy snow.
According to foreign news agency the so-called Thomas Fire in Southern California has destroyed more than 1,000 structures and threatened 18,000 more since erupting on Dec. 4, including homes in the wealthy enclave of Montecito just outside the coastal city of Santa Barbara.
Nearly 8,500 personnel using nearly 1,000 engines and 32 helicopters were battling the blaze, which was 40 percent contained on Saturday evening. It has become the seventh-most destructive in state history, officials said.
The total cost of fighting the fire had come to more than $110 million by Saturday evening, as flames blazing over steep hills lit up the night skies.
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