On Day 4 of Southern California fires, a stark collection of losses and gains

It was a dreadful day in Southern California. It was a better day in Southern California.
While dozens of people confronted the loss of homes, tens of thousands remained under evacuation orders, and more than 5,000 tired firefighters continued to battle four wildfires in Southern California on Thursday, many residents breathed sighs of relief that the fires in Los Angeles and Ventura were increasingly contained and no new ones had taken hold.
Residents went to bed Wednesday fearful that Thursday would be the worst of the four days of conflagration, with Santa Ana winds forecast to gust up to 90 mph in some places overnight. But it turned into a day for the region to take a deep — and more smoke-free — breath. Forecasts for wind gusts strong enough to spread existing fires and carrying embers long distances remained in force for Friday. But the velocities were expected to be lower, up to 60 mph over ridges and through canyons, according to AccuWeather.
Authorities reported progress at three of the four fires that had been at only 5 percent containment Wednesday: Containment rose to 20 percent for the Skirball fire, in the Bel-Air area in the Sepulveda Pass; to 15 percent for the Rye fire, in Santa Clarita; and 10 percent for the Creek fire, north of Sylmar. The Liberty fire in the Murrieta area of Riverside County erupted Thursday, torching 300 acres and claiming at least one home.
The largest, the Thomas fire burning in Ventura County, remained 5 percent contained. It threatened Ojai, forced evacuation of the seaside community of Faria Beach, and prompted the intermittent closure of Highway 101 between Ventura and Santa Barbara on Thursday. As of midafternoon it had burned more than 96,000 acres and destroyed 73 homes, among other structures.
Fire officials reported significant progress in heading off the Skirball fire, which had burned 475 acres, destroyed four homes and damaged 12 structures. The Getty Center, across the 405 from the Skirball fire, announced it will reopen Friday.
Brian Petrunich spends time with his wife Claudia in an evacuation center at Van Nuys Sherman Oaks War Memorial Park in Sherman Oaks on Thursday, Dec. 07, 2017. They have been out of their Bel-Air home for two days due to the Skirball Fire. “So appreciative of the support we experienced in the evacuation center, we came down to the Valley expecting to be left to our own devices, but found ourselves surrounded by nothing but kindness. When you experience kindness- pass it on!,” said Claudia Petrunich. (Photo by Ed Crisostomo, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Brian Petrunich spends time with his wife Claudia in an evacuation center at Van Nuys Sherman Oaks War Memorial Park in Sherman Oaks on Thursday, Dec. 07, 2017. They have been out of their Bel-Air home for two days due to the Skirball Fire. “So appreciative of the support we experienced in the evacuation center, we came down to the Valley expecting to be left to our own devices, but found ourselves surrounded by nothing but kindness. When you experience kindness- pass it on!,” said Claudia Petrunich. (Photo by Ed Crisostomo, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Brian Petrunich spends time with his wife Claudia in an evacuation center at Van Nuys Sherman Oaks War Memorial Park in Sherman Oaks on Thursday, Dec. 07, 2017. They have been out of their Bel-Air home for two days due to the Skirball Fire. “So appreciative of the support we experienced in the evacuation center, we came down to the Valley expecting to be left to our own devices, but found ourselves surrounded by nothing but kindness. When you experience kindness- pass it on!,” said Claudia Petrunich. (Photo by Ed Crisostomo, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Show Caption of Expand
The Creek fire had burned 12,605 acres and destroyed five homes, and the Rye fire had burned 7,000 acres.
A serious new fire Thursday was reported in San Diego County, destroying or threatening structures near Bonsall and closing Highway 78.
In Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the rare December firestorms had combined to burn nearly 120,000 acres, displace 200,000 people and destroy about 80 homes by Thursday evening. That’s about half the acreage affected by the October fires in Northern California, including the Santa Rosa area, where 24 people died. But it was too early to take consolation in knowing the disaster could be worse.
Officials knew winds, and fortunes, could shift.
“This is still quite an insecure time,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said late Thursday afternoon after reporting crews’ progress in fighting the Creek fire.
There was a flash of fear Thursday morning when a brush fire was reported shortly after 8 a.m. in Malibu, in the 5300 block of Horizon Drive. But it took only about an hour for 200 firefighters and water drops by the Los Angeles County Fire Department to halt the fire’s progress with a quarter-acre burned and no structures damaged.
Anxiety rose again when the Chino Valley Fire Department reported a little after 9 a.m. that it was battling a one-acre vegetation fire in Prado Regional Park. But, in just minutes, the department said it had contained the fire and affected roads were open again.
A vegetation fire in Huntington Beach, at Adams Avenue and Beach Boulevard, was knocked down by that city’s fire department at about noon.
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The smoke haze that permeated several counties the past few days had blown away in most places. The South Coast Air Quality Management District gave air a rating of “moderate” for much of the region, meaning it’s acceptable but might present a moderate health concern for people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. It remained “very unhealthy” to “hazardous” close to the Ventura County fires.
The Red Cross said the shelters it’s operating for residents displaced by all of the Southern California fires combined to serve 430 people overnight Wednesday. In the frightening early hours of the Thomas fire Monday and Tuesday, the shelter at the Ventura County Fairgrounds hosted 600 by itself.
At evacuation shelters run by the Red Cross and government agencies, people waited for word on what was happening in their neighborhoods and when they could go home.
Brian Petrunich, a retired attorney who evacuated with his wife, Claudia, from their Bel-Air home shortly after the Skirball fire started, might have spoken for many.
“I guess it’s a cliche, but not knowing is worse than knowing,” Petrunich said.
The Petrunichs were the first evacuees to arrive at a shelter in the gymnasium at Sherman Oaks Recreation Center on Wednesday morning. They were still there more than 24 hours later.
“I’m not one who normally suffers from cabin fever, but I’ve got it,” Petrunich said. “If it’s going to be today (that they can go home), fine.  If it’s tomorrow, fine. If it’s next week — or later — fine. Just let us know and then we can plan accordingly.”
Petrunich said he wasn’t complaining about the shelter, where city workers provided beds for a half-dozen people overnight and a local restaurant delivered breakfast Thursday.
“If you consider (the evacuation facilities near) all of the fires, probably tens of thousands of people are being helped,” Petrunich said. “It’s nice to see that government resources go to helping people at times of need, and not just these projects they spend it on.”
Petrunich, 72, who said he has lived in Southern California since 1951, said people here seem to take disasters “more in stride.”
“I suppose it’s partly the cosmopolitan nature of the inhabitants. People from everywhere have gone through a lot of different things. When something hits, it’s just one more thing,” Petrunich said. “Maybe that’s why I don’t get the feeling of panic that you pick up when you watch hurricanes in the Caribbean or the South, or tornadoes.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Oc Register