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Little activity remains at huge Southern California wildfire

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The wildfire that scarred a huge area of Southern California this month is producing very little active flame now.
Black Press Media
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False-colour image from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite via NASA, shows a brown burn scar from the Thomas fire north of the city of Ventura, Calif., at bottom center. The flames stand out starkly as smoke billows toward the Pacific Ocean and untouched areas of vegetation appear in bright shades of green. (Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The wildfire that scarred a huge area of Southern California this month is producing very little active flame now.

Officials say the fire is 88 per cent contained Tuesday and is not expected to make any further forward progress.

The fire scorched more than 440 square miles of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, destroyed more than 1,000 structures and damaged 280 others after breaking out Dec. 4.

Fewer than 900 personnel remain on the fire, which once was battled by an army of more than 8,000 firefighters as it became California’s largest on record.

Flare-ups may occur and about 30 wilderness oil seeps ignited by the fire continue to burn, but authorities say there’s little smoke and air quality reports indicate healthy conditions for outdoor activities.