After a welcome lull in powerful winds that drove Southern California’s massive wildfire, crews and homeowners braced Wednesday for the return of potentially dangerous gusts that could revive the flames.
Some residents are watching from afar at hotels and evacuation centers, while others are waiting in their homes and hoping for the best.
Katy and Bob Zappala have stayed in their home in Santa Barbara, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, despite a mandatory evacuation order that’s been in place since Saturday.
“Our cars are packed, we have all our clothes and jewelry, so we’re ready to leave at a moment’s notice should we have to,” Katy Zappala, 74, said Wednesday. “We’re ready to leap in and leave, and we’re just keeping a good eye on the sky.”
The Zappalas and their cat, Madeline, haven’t left home since the evacuation order was issued because authorities wouldn’t allow them back in. They’re starting to run out of food and are hoping that if they make it through the next wave of winds, the ordeal will be over.
“It’s a critical day,” Zappala said. “You’re always nervous when the winds come up.”
Some 18,000 homes and other buildings remain threatened in Ventura and Santa Barba counties.
The Thomas Fire, which began Dec. 4, is responsible for two deaths, has destroyed at least 750 homes, and has burned about 425 square miles.
The blaze was 60 percent contained and now the second-largest in California history. Officials said the new winds could cause it to grow into the state’s biggest fire ever.
Firefighters used three days of calm conditions to bulldoze containment lines and set controlled fires to clear dry brush ahead of winds expected to whip up Wednesday afternoon.
Forecasts called for winds of 20 mph to 30 mph with gusts of up to 60 mph by early evening.
That would force fire crews to fall back to safe zones rather than risk being trapped by the surging flames.