A flare-up on the western edge of Southern California's largest and most destructive wildfire sent residents fleeing Sunday, as wind-fanned flames churned through canyons and down hillsides toward coastal towns. The so-called Thomas Fire is only 15 percent contained, now threatening the city of Santa Barbara and the nearby coastal town of Carpinteria, and is on track to become one of the worst wildfires in California history. It has already destroyed 583 structures and scorched 173,000 acres, the authorities say. New evacuations were ordered in Carpinteria, which been under fire threat for days. The new evacuation zone extends within two miles of the Santa Barbara Zoo. Zoo Director Nancy McToldridge said in a statement that there was 'no immediate danger' from the fire and that the zoo was closed with all animals inside to shelter from smoke. 'We drill for and are prepared for emergencies,' she said, adding that an evacuation plan for the animals was in place if needed. Meanwhile, crews with help from water-dropping aircraft saved several homes as unpredictable gusts sent the blaze churning deeper into foothill areas northwest of Los Angeles that haven't burned in decades. Santa Barbara County firefighters work on structure protection early Sunday morning, keeping a close eye on nearby flames atop Shepard Mesa Road in Carpinteria, California. The area has been evacuated by law enforcement Firefighters knock down flames as they advance on homes atop Shepherd Mesa Road early Sunday in Carpinteria, California. A flare-up on the western edge of Southern California's largest and most destructive wildfire sent residents fleeing Flames are seen approaching Carpinteria early Sunday. Crews with help from water-dropping aircraft saved several homes as unpredictable gusts sent the blaze churning deeper into areas northwest of Los Angeles that haven't burned in decades The massive Thomas Fire (top left) has burned 173,000 acres and is quickly encroaching on Carpinteria and Santa Barbara This map shows the new mandatory evacuation zones in red and voluntary evacuation zones in yellow. The voluntary evacuation zone extends within two miles of the Santa Barbara Zoo, which shut down and is taking emergency precautions 'The winds are kind of squirrely right now,' said Santa Barbara County fire spokesman Mike Eliason. 'Some places the smoke is going straight up in the air, and others it's blowing sideways. Depends on what canyon we're in.' The department posted a photo of one residence engulfed in flames before dawn. It's unclear whether other structures burned. Thousands of homes in the county were without power. Firefighters made significant progress Saturday on other fronts of the enormous fire that started Dec. 4 in neighboring Ventura County. Containment was way up on other major blazes in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties. Forecasters said Santa Ana winds that whipped fires across the region last week were expected to die down later Sunday - but not before creating possible gusts topping 50 mph. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department posted this photo of one residence engulfed in flames before dawn Sunday. It's unclear whether other structures burned. Thousands of homes in the county were without power Flames advance on homes off Shepard Mesa Road at 5.45am Sunday in Carpinteria. New evacuations were ordered in the seaside city in Santa Barbara County that has been under fire threat for days Firefighters light backfire while trying to keep a wildfire from jumping Santa Ana Road near Ventura, California on Saturday A plane drops fire retardant on a wildfire on Friday in Fallbrook, California. The wind-swept blazes have forced tens of thousands of evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes in Southern California Firefighters light backfire while trying to keep a wildfire from jumping Santa Ana Road near Ventura on Saturday A lack of rain has officials on edge statewide because of parched conditions and no end in sight to the typical fire season. 'This is the new normal,' Gov. Jerry Brown warned Saturday after surveying damage from the deadly Ventura fire. 'We're about ready to have firefighting at Christmas. This is very odd and unusual.' High fire risk is expected to last into January and the governor and experts said climate change is making it a year-round threat. Overall, the fires have destroyed nearly 800 homes and other buildings, killed dozens of horses and forced more than 200,000 people to flee flames that have burned over 270 square miles (700 square kilometers) since Dec. 4. One death, so far, a 70-year-old woman who crashed her car on an evacuation route, is attributed to the fire in Santa Paula, a small city where the fire began. Dick Marsala looks through debris from his destroyed home after a wildfire roared through the Rancho Monserate Country Club on Friday in Bonsall, California Fire crews search for hot spots among destroyed homes in the Rancho Monserate Country Club community Friday Firefighter Simon Garcia gets a hug from a woman who did not give her name after she arrived to find her house was intact The Ventura County blaze continued to burn into rugged mountains in the Los Padres National Forest near the little town of Ojai and toward a preserve established for endangered California condors. As fires burned in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, firefighters were already in place north of San Diego on Thursday when a major fire erupted and rapidly spread in the Fallbrook area, known for its avocado groves and horse stables in the rolling hills. The fire swept through the San Luis Rey Training Facility, where it killed more than 40 elite thoroughbreds and destroyed more than 100 homes - most of them in a retirement community. Three people were burned trying to escape the fire that continued to smolder Sunday. Most of last week's fires were in places that burned in the past, including one in the ritzy Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel-Air that burned six homes and another in the city's rugged foothills above the community of Sylmar and in Santa Paula.
A flare-up on the western edge of Southern California Firefighters largest and most destructive wildfire sent residents fleeing days , as wind-fanned flames churned through canyons and down hillsides toward coastal towns.The so-called Thomas Fire is only 15 percent contained, now threatening the city of Santa Barbara and the nearby coastal town of Carpinteria , and is on track to become 583 of the worst wildfires in California history. It has already destroyed one structures and scorched 173,000 acres , the authorities say. New evacuations were ordered in Santa Barbara , which been under fire threat for days .The new evacuation zone extends within two miles of the Santa Barbara Zoo .Zoo Director Nancy McToldridge said in a statement that there was 'no immediate danger' from the fire and that the zoo was closed with all animals inside to shelter from smoke.