Crews saved hundreds of homes in epic battle against wind and fire. But two families returned to rubble
Michael and Sonia Behrman of Montecito, Calif., take one last look at their home, which was destroyed by the Thomas fire, before packing up and leaving for the night.
Reporting from Montecito, Calif. — Every morning and every night during her family vacation in snowy Colorado, Sonia Behrman pulled up the live security footage of her Montecito home.
Sometimes she’d see a handful of firefighters, with hoses, moving about. Other times, a firetruck parked in the driveway. In every stream for seven days, her home was still standing.
But on Saturday morning, the feed on her cellphone screen cut out.
Either their internet went out, her husband said, or their house burned down.
The Behrmans learned Sunday morning that it was the latter. That despite a heroic battle by firefighters that left more than a thousand homes unscathed by the relentless Thomas fire, their large hillside residence was reduced to charred walls and piles of rubble.
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“My whole inside just went numb,” Behrman, 39, said of receiving a text from her stepson, who saw their home on the news. “My sister had to sit me on the couch. I felt like I was going to faint.”
Despite her family’s heartbreak, the destruction in Montecito over the weekend was relatively light, a testament to days of preparation by firefighters bracing for powerful winds that sent the blaze raging through the hills of the picturesque coastal town. Just two homes were destroyed, and seven others damaged.
“It could have been a lot worse,” said Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni. “We could have easily lost firefighters or had more homes destroyed. It was a great effort by firefighters.”
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Winds persisted Sunday morning, with gusts topping 70 mph in mountain areas in the fire zone and 50 mph on the Ventura County coast. But they calmed as the day wore on, allowing fire crews to mop up hot spots and remove dry vegetation by the homes they’d saved in Montecito.
From earlier today: Fire crews, local residents and air assets continue work to stop the advance of the #ThomasFire as the weather remained favorable. Air drops, clearing brush, bulldozing lines and mopping up. Note the cold breath up in the mountains. https://t.co/zHcZd3XpOfpic.twitter.com/dbzNMZtaOj
In Ventura County, firefighters concentrated their forces in the hills above Fillmore, where the wildfire stayed within the containment lines despite the increase in winds. As a result, authorities lifted evacuations in Fillmore, as well as in parts of Carpinteria.
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By Sunday evening, the wildfire had grown to 270,000 acres and led 104,607 people to flee their homes, authorities said. More than 8,500 firefighters have battled the blaze, the largest mobilization of fire crews to fight any wildfire in California history. The firefight has cost $123.8 million.
Strong Santa Ana winds helped clear smoke out of Ventura County, but health officials cautioned residents that “non-smoky” conditions don’t mean the air is safe to breathe. The cities of Ojai, Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Paula and Camarillo all recorded unhealthy air quality ratings early Sunday afternoon, according to the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.
With strong winds threatening to spark more wildfires across the region, Southern California Edison considered turning off power to some parts of Malibu.
Malibu was identified as particularly vulnerable if strong Santa Ana winds continue to batter the region, said Paul Griffo, an Edison spokesman.
Experts say shutting down the power grid in times of extreme winds is a rarely used but effective tactic to prevent wildfires. Until last week, Southern California Edison hadn’t shut down power in response to wind conditions for more than a decade, Griffo said.
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But that changed after the fires in California’s wine country in October damaged or destroyed more than 14,000 homes and killed more than 40 people. The company shut off electricity on Dec. 7 to Idyllwild in the San Jacinto Mountains, Griffo said. And San Diego Gas & Electric took similar action last week in rural San Diego County before fires broke out — but there was some criticism of the move because firefighters couldn’t operate electric water pumps.
Winds are expected to calm down Monday and Tuesday to 10 to 20 mph, which will “look tranquil” compared with the weekend gusts, said Kathy Hoxsie, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Increased humidity levels and low winds are expected to aid firefighters.
But it will be a short respite, as strong winds and low humidity are expected to return Wednesday in Santa Barbara County and Thursday in Ventura County, Hoxsie said.
Back on Park Hill Lane in Montecito, Behrman scanned a pile of her family’s belongings that were spared by the blaze. Wrapped Christmas gifts, presents from her 1-year-old son’s birthday last week, photographs, strollers and car seats.
“Tons of memorable stuff,” she said, adding that she’s grateful to the firefighters who salvaged some of her things. She planned to load up a car and haul what was saved to her mother’s house in Carpinteria, where she, her husband and three of their kids will stay.
Rusty Smith clears out brush growing near his home after a wind event Saturday kicked up flames and threatened his home in Flores Flats on Gibraltar Road.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )
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In neighboring Santa Barbara, Rusty Smith said he fled his home on Gibraltar Road about 1 a.m. Sunday. He stayed with a friend nearby and set his alarm to wake him every 90 minutes so he could see if the flames had reached his house.
But firefighters managed to save Smith’s house and about two dozen others in the neighborhood.
“I wasn’t worried. You know when things are out of your control,” Smith, 57, said Sunday afternoon, as he swept debris from the driveway of his neighbor’s house. “But we know we were fortunate.”
Lucas Merrick returned Sunday around noon to find that his home also had been spared. As helicopters dropped water on smoldering vegetation, Merrick said his hillside property is much more than a home for him and other residents.
“There’s a spiritual element,” he said. “That’s why people decide to live here.”
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John Bain and Brandon Baker try to stop a fire from burning a stranger’s home in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A brush fire moving with the wind sends embers all over residential neighborhoods north of Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A family packs up and evacuates as a brush fire gets closer to their home in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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John Bain and his friends, all from Camarillo, came to help as brush fires move quickly through residential neighborhoods in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Strangers band together to help put out a palm tree on fire and stop it from burning homes.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The Hawaiian Gardens apartments burn in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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Residents help with the fire attack on Buena Vista Street in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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Residents watch the Thomas fire on Prospect Street in Ventura.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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Firefighters are deployed to battle the fire in a Ventura neighborhood.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A chimney is all that stands of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Remnants of a home as a brush fire continues to threaten other homes in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A home burns on a hillside overlooking Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Palms are consumed in the Thomas fire.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )
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Emma Jacobson, 19, center, gets a hug from a neighbor after her family home was destroyed by fire in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Olivia Jacobson, 16, wipes tears as she looks at her family’s home, destroyed by the brush fire on Island View Drive in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Aerial view of the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Noah Alarcon carries a cage with the family cat while evacuating from Casitas Springs.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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Smoke from the Thomas fire crosses over Lake Casitas near Ojai.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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A Ventura County firefighter battles a blaze on Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Ventura County Firefighter Aaron Cohen catches his breath after fighting to save homes along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Aerial view of homes burned to the ground in the Thomas fire in Ventura County.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )
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A home between Via Baja and Foothill Road burns in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Amanda Leon and husband Johnny Leon watch as firefighters fight to save homes along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Chino Valley firefighters fight to save a home along Cobblestone Drive near Foothill Road in Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Embers continue to burn at sunset Tuesday in a home on Ridgecrest Court at Scenic Way in the Clearpoint neighborhood of Ventura.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles TImes)
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters try to protect homes from the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Edward Aguilar runs through the flames of the Thomas Fire to save his cats at his mobile home along Highway 33 in Casitas Springs in Ventura County.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Jeff Lipscomb, left, Gabriel Lipscomb, 17, center, and Rachel Lipscomb, 11, look for items to recover from their burned home in Ventura.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A traffic collision temporarily clogged lanes on the northbound 101 Freeway between Solimar and Faria Beaches as the Thomas fire burned in the hills.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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The Thomas fire burns towards the 101 Freeway and homes between Solimar and Faria Beaches.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Fire personnel keep an eye on the Thomas fire on Toland Road near Santa Paula.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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A train on the Rincon coast passes a burning hillside from the Thomas fire.
(Michael Owen Baker / For the Times)
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The Thomas fire burns along the 101 Freeway north of Ventura on Wednesday evening.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A firefighter battles the Thomas fire in the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A resident cries as the Thomas fire approaches the town of La Conchita early Thursday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Burned palm trees are left standing between the 101 Freeway and Faria Beach as the Thomas fire reaches the Pacific Ocean.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters battle Thursday to protect the resort city of Ojai from encroaching flames.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Casey Rodriquez helps a friend move belongings after the Thomas Fire destroyed most of an apartment building on North Kalarama in Ventura.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A burnt-out bus near Maripoca Highway.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The Thomas fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A huge plume of smoke rises north of Ventura as seen Sunday afternoon from the Ventura pier, as the Thomas fire threatens parts of Carpenteria and Montecito.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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The Thomas Fire burns in the Los Padres National Forest, near Ojai, Calif. on Friday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Residents react as they watch the Thomas Fire burn in the hills above La Conchita at 5 am Thursday moning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Mary McEwen and husband Dan Bellaart prepare to evacuate their home on Toro Canyon Road in Montecito as the Thomas fire burns.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Carpenteria resident Chris Gayner, right, photographs a plane in the hills of Carpenteria.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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From left, residents Michael Desjardins, his neighbor Patty Rodriguez, daughter Mikayla, wife Veronica, mother in law Amanda Buzin, and son Mikey keep an eye on the Thomas fire in Carpenteria.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Mary McEwen cheers as she sees fire crews make their way up a hill past her home on Toro Canyon Rd. in Montecito.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Dan Bellaart and wife Mary McEwen comfort each other in the backyard of their home that includes an avocado ranch on 9 acres of land on Toro Canyon Road in Montecito, as the Thomas fire burns in the background.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Carpinteria resident Jay Molnar, 55, mouth and nose protected against the smoke, views flames glowing in the hills above the city on Dec. 11, 2017.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Sacramento firefighters battle a blaze in Toro Canyon in Carpenteria at dusk Tuesday.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Josh Acosta, superintendent with Fulton Hotshots looks for ways to fight fire consuming a structure threatening two homes high up Toro Canyon in Carpenteria at dusk Tuesday.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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A motorcade passes on tHighway 126 carrying the body of a Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson, who died Thursday morning while battling the Thomas Fire.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Santa Paula City officials, Police and Firefighters salute from a bridge as a motorcade passes on the Santa Paula Freeway 126 carrying the body of a Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Forest Service crews cut and clear dense brush for contingency lines off of East Camino Cielo in the Santa Ynez Mountains above Montecito and Santa Barbara to help stop the Thomas fire from advancing.
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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A hotshot crew from Ojai marches towards their assignment to protect structures on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Firefighters monitor the flames Saturday from a staging area near Parma Park in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Flames slowly make their way down a valley behind a home in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Flames whip around power lines as they move through Sycamore Canyon on Saturday, threatening structures in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Smoke billows over Santa Barbara as the Thomas Fire continues to threaten the area on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Bill Shubin, deputy fire chief of the Santa Rosa Fire Department checks on flames burning near homes north of East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A fire truck pulls responds to fires burning near homes on East Mountain Drive in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )
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Brian Good, from US Forest Service, leans forward against the wind, and holds up a Kestrel to measure wind speeds up to 50 mph on Gibraltar Road in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A plume of smoke moves south as winds as high as 50 mph blow down Gibraltar Road on the west fork of Cold Spring Trail in Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Flames and a big plume of smoke threaten homes on Gibraltar Road near Gibraltar Rock, outside Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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The sun rises as fire crews prepare for another day of fighting the Thomas Fire, in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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An aircraft makes a water drop over a hot spot up in the mountain range at Gibraltar Rock near Montecito, Calif. on Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Humboldt County firefighters Bobby Gray, left, hoses down smoldering flames inside a destroyed home, as Kellee Stoehr, right looks on, after the Thomas Fire burned in Montecito, Calif. on Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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A home on Park Hill Lane was destroyed by the Thomas fire in Montecito, Calif.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )
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Humboldt County firefighters Lonnie Risling, left, and Jimmy McHaffie, right, spray down smoldering fire underneath the rubble of a home that was destroyed by the Thomas Fire, in Montecito, Calif., Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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Fire crews help the Behrman family retrieve their family’s personal belongings out of their burned home, in Montecito, Calif., on Sunday.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
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In the foreground of the ridges that were burned by the Thomas Fire, Rusty Smith stands outside his home that survived the flames that were kicked up by Saturday’s wind event and threatened his home in Flores Flats on Gibraltar Road, near Montecito.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Etehad reported from Montecito, Tchekmedyian from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Ben Poston contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
Former Los Angeles Times staff writer Melissa Etehad is an Iranian American who enjoys writing about national and international issues. She received her master’s in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in international affairs from UC San Diego and has reported from the Middle East and Europe. She previously worked at Al Jazeera English and the Washington Post’s foreign desk, where she covered the intersections of politics, religion and gender. She’s a native Farsi speaker.
Alene Tchekmedyian is an investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times. She previously covered the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, focusing on accountability stories and writing about failures by officials to comply with transparency laws. Before joining The Times in 2016, she reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader.
