The Weather Network

Revisiting the timeline and photos of the unrelenting Californian Thomas Fire

Randi MannDigital Reporter
Published on Dec. 9, 2020, 10:56 AM
Updated on Dec. 9, 2022, 6:05 AM

The Thomas Fire was a record-setting wildfire at the time and remains to be one of the most destructive fires in California's history.

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.

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The Thomas Fire burned through Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties in southern California in December 2017.

The fire took out approximately 281,893 acres, making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time. Unfortunately, the record was surpassed by the Ranch Fire in August 2018.

California fire

Credit: Twitter/SBCFireInfo via Storyful

The wildfire was first reported just north of Santa Paula on Monday, December 4th. It was near Thomas Aquinas College, which is where the fire got its name.

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There were strong Santa Ana winds that gusted up to 97 km/h, which caused the fire to spread quickly.

By Tuesday morning, the first had already destroyed over 500 homes in Ventura.

california home flames

Flames from a backfiring operation near a home in Santa Barbara Credit: Twitter/SBCFireInfo via Storyful

Helicopters began dropping water while more than 290 firetrucks came in from neighbouring states.

By December 8, the fire grew to 143,000 acres while 10% was contained.

December 9 is when things got worse as the Santa Ana winds returned. Though the fire's containment increased to 15%, the winds rapidly spread the fire and reduced the containment back to 10% by the evening of December 10.

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Californian fire - apartments

Hawaiian Village Apartments in Ventura, California Credit: Michael Darden via Storyful

At its height, the Thomas Fire was powerful enough to create its own weather, making it a firestorm.

The wind dried out the air and created low humidity. Most of Southern California experienced the driest March-through-December period on record.

Burn scar - NOAA

The Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS captured the burn scars from the Thomas Fire Credit: NOAA

Thomas fire was officially declared extinguished on June 1, 2018.

To hear more about the Camp Fire, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."

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Thumbnail credit: Twitter/SBCFireInfo via Storyful