Five Days of Smoke and Fire in Southern California

By JENNIFER MEDINA
Six major fires are burning across Southern California. They began Monday and many are still raging.

Five Days of Smoke and Fire in Southern California

By JENNIFER MEDINA DEC. 8, 2017
Six major fires are burning across Southern California. They began Monday and many are still raging.
I am a reporter based in Los Angeles, where more than 100,000 acres have burned.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
It’s hard to underestimate how many helicopters and planes are in the skies right now. In burned neighborhoods, you can see the pink splatter of fire retardant on cars and driveways.
Josh Edelson/Agence France-Presse – Getty Images
The winding roads were difficult to navigate, clouded with a thick dark gray-brown haze, and at times, flames on either side.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
One airline passenger caught the scale of the Thomas Fire burning outside Ventura. It’s the biggest fire, and only 10 percent under control.
Tim Bradshaw
Patricia Hampton is one those affected by the massive Ventura fire. More than 200,000 people have been told to evacuate. Her family woke up to “what we thought was rain pelting the roof.”
Hilary Swift for The New York Times
The sound was actually embers and debris falling on their home. “Whenever I think about it, I start crying,” Ms. Hampton said.
Hilary Swift for The New York Times
On the ranches of Ventura County, farmers are worried about their animals. At least 54 animals have perished in the fires, and the number is likely to rise.
Hilary Swift for The New York Times
Greg Coulson in Upper Ojai has 17 horses in his care. “Water is my biggest concern.”
Hilary Swift for The New York Times
South of Ojai, in Sylmar, winds were reaching up to 80 miles per hour, making it difficult for residents trying to contain fires with only their garden hoses.
David Mcnew/Getty Images
Many homes were consumed by the fires. This one is in Ventura. A smaller fire, outside the Bel-Air neighborhood, is mostly contained but burned several mansions.
Jeff Zimmerman
Firefighters have been arriving from as far north as the Oregon border. “You can feel the heat even through our gear,” said Allen Janzen, a Los Angeles firefighter. “I don’t get nervous, but I get adrenaline.”
Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse – Getty Images
It’s not over yet. The newest danger was in San Diego County, where a new fire had exploded to more than 4,000 acres and sent horses stampeding out of the San Luis Rey Downs horse-training center.
Jennifer Medina is a Times correspondent based in Los Angeles.
Produced by MORRIGAN McCARTHY, BEN LAFFIN and ANDREW ROSSBACK
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