Thomas Fire Ventura County

[Mike_The_Grad]

My name is Mike Moraga, I live about 2 miles away from where the Thomas Fire started in Santa Paula,CA. The fire is named after Thomas Aquinas College, a private Roman-Catholic Liberal Arts college with about 350 students enrolled. The fire began around 6:30 P.M. PST on Monday 12/4/2017. The fire originated in close proximity to the college, we are still unsure if it began on the college grounds or not.The fire had grown from 25 acres to nearly 30,000 acres in a matter of about 3 hours.
I was not home at the time of the fires beginning. I was about 11 miles away in the city of Ventura visiting a close friend who has been in i.c.u. since Friday 12/1/2017. He was found unconscious with life threatening injuries in front of a private religious elementary school in the city of Ventura that Friday. Currently there are no witnesses, no explanation, and no Idea who or what happened to him. He has internal organ damage, a fractured skull, and a fractured arm. He is the only person that knows what happened and has just regained consciousness this morning. I will know more tomorrow.
After I left the hospital I went to visit another close friend who resides in Ventura also. It was then that I had learned about the fire that was burning just a few miles from my home. Having not heard directly from my family I figured it was probably something small and was being handled by our already prepared local Santa Paula Fire Dept. This was around 9:00 P.M.
About 11:30 P.M. the power went out while I was still in Ventura at my buddy's house. Didn't bother us much as we already had a couple beers. I walked outside to see the extent of the power outage when I noticed a bright orange glow in the sky above a very close hillside.(about 100 yds. away)
Not 15 minutes later we heard bullhorns and saw red flashing lights coming down the street. We were being mandatory evacuated. My buddy and his fiancee gathered the 2 kids ages 5 and 3, and jumped into their car and split. I jumped into my truck and followed them. We made it about 100 yds. When it was deadstopped from every person in the neighborhood and that side of the city doing the same thing. He lives about a mile and a half from the only freeway in or out of that side of town. It took me 45 minutes to reach the freeway. During that time i witnessed what can happen to people when they are scared. People yelling, arguing, honking horns, and only thinking of themselves. I chose not to add to the chaos and instead waved people on ahead of myself and let others get that extra foot of space they were so adamant about getting. I received lots of dirty looks because of this. I was driving my 1972 C10 LWB with a fresh rebuilt bored out 350 with a comp cam kit, headers and 3" Super 40 Flowmaster dual exhaust. I do not have my horn connected currently as I dont see a need for it. A quick blip of the go fast pedal seems to get me pretty well noticed by anyone within a block. Suddenly people were not so quick to fill the dead space in front or behind me. This allowed me to wave people on that I had noticed were not being allowed to enter the flow of traffic.

We all met up at my friends work about 3 miles away which coincidentally was the evacuation shelter site. He works at the fairgrounds in Ventura and has a key for every door in the place. He set up his family in the fully stocked warehouse and settled in. I finally found out that the flames coming over the top of the hillside were from the same fire that started 11 miles away in Santa Paula. It took less than 5 hours for the fire to cover this distance.

I then received a phone call from my family stating that we were now being mandatory evacuated. So I jumped back in my truck and set out for home. There was hardly another vehicle on the freeway leading me home. There is about a 5 mile stretch of highway that parallels the foothills between the two cities. I could see fire and flames along the entire ridgeline between the two cities. I arrived home to what I can best compare to as a scene from an apocalyptic-action movie. The neighborhood was surrounded on all sides by fire. The flames were just a couple of hundred feet away from my backyard. Half of the neighbors were already gone. The ones left were the ones that I know very well and were just minutes away from leaving themselves. My brother met me at home and we gathered what we considered to be important at that moment in time. Water, T.P., sleeping bags, flashlights, batteries, and our firearms and ammo. Not because we felt that we were going to need them but because we didnt know when or if we were coming back and who would be around ransacking the neighborhood.
I pulled out of my driveway at 4:00 A.M. on Tuesday 12/5. As I got in my truck I looked at the hillside just a few hundred feet behind my house and could see the flames licking the bottom of a high tension wire electrical tower, these lines are directly over my home. It was enough to convince me that leaving was the right thing to do.

My family and some of our neighbors met up at the main shopping center in town. During this entire time the winds were whipping and gusts were estimated at over 60 M.PH. they were blowing my truck all over the road. We sat in the parking lot until sunrise and then some. My brother navigated his way back up to the house about 6 hours after we left. The fire was even closer to our home and the smoke was so thick there was practically zero visibility. He immediately returned to the shopping center. I live in another city aside from my family about 30 miles away. There was no fire there so i headed home to get some rest. My family decided to stay and wait it out. They were able to return home late that evening. Luckily our home was fine and so was our entire neighborhood. Power was out until yesterday. The fire is still uncontained as of friday 12/8. Here are some known facts as of the time of me typing this. Around 30,000 have been evacuated.

[SIXTY9]

Mike,

My family and I wish all of you that are being threatened by this fire the best and our prayers are with all of you.

Wally

[Mike_The_Grad]

I made this post only to share my personal experience and to provide some up to date info showing the magnitude of this particular fire. There are thousands of people still in danger and there are hundreds of people who's lives are greatly impacted due to property damage. Luckily, there has not been significant injuries and no confirmed loss of life reported in our area. I have some pictures I took with my cellphone that I will upload and for those that have Instagram I have videos uploaded to my account that is in my signature.

I apologize for the sideways pictures.
The first picture is from Monday night when we evacuated my friends house. This is 2 blocks from his home. His home is at the base of the hill that is on fire.

The second picture is the view I had driving home to help evacuate my family. The scale of distance in this picture is about 4 miles wide.

The third picture I took just this afternoon looking south from my family's home in Santa Paula. The smoke that is visible is from the easternmost flame front burning. It is approximately 6 miles from my families home in between the cities of Santa Paula and Fillmore.

The fourth picture is looking north from home towards where the fire originated approx. 2 miles beyond those large trees.

Having just walked outside about an hour ago (2:00 a.m.) I could see a large fire burning on the mountainside to the left of those large trees. That mountain side is about 10 miles from home.

The last picture is one I got from NASA's Instagram page. An astronaut aboard the international space station took this photo on Dec. 6.

[Ol Blue K20]

Wishing the best to the affected people in So Cal. I was evacuated a couple months ago for the atlas fire. Hoping for quick containment.

[gearheadperkins]

Yes, Prayers for you guys and all the people of So Cal.

[Mike_The_Grad]

Some new news regarding the Thomas Fire. I have been staying at my parents house for the last couple of days. Smoke has been the most persistent issue next to the actual fire. Lastnight the air was calm which lead to thick smoke lingering in air. This morning was the first morning where I have not been able to physically see any type of flames or glowing from my home. The air remained dead calm through most of the day, smoke was constant until around noon. I finally popped the hood on my truck to check the vitals. I had a slipping alternator belt that screeched at startup, a intake manifold bolt middle driverside that accumulated a nice little puddle of oil, and a pretty well saturated K&N airfilter. During the hour or so that i had the hood up, something caught my eye towards the middle of town. Smoke began rising. And almost simultaneously smoke began rising towards the north of my house. Turns out our municipal airport caught fire and spread about 5 miles through the creek bed. To the north, not far from my house, a structure caught fire. Both have since been contained or extinguished.

One "rumor" I've heard is that the agency leading the fire fight has estimated total containment of the Thomas Fire by Christmas eve of this year.
This is far from over for most of us still. Thankfully, we have had the longest duration of calm weather since the fire began, today. But it is not expected to last long with a red flag warning that has been extended until Sunday 12/10.

[Steeveedee]

That's pretty bad, Mike. Lots of grief all around. I've been watching this, as the fire could end up going southerly and burn up both sides of Simi Valley, like happened in '03. All these fires! I see where someone spotted someone in a black truck throw an incendiary device (it hit the ground and immediately flared up, causing a fire) just off the 23 fwy. They called it in and it got extinguished before it got out of hand. Didn't get a license plate, though. I wonder how many of these fires are arson?

[el_fantasma]

I used to live on Loma Vista in Santa Paula, wonder if it’s still there, beautiful area. Hoping for the best for you

[Mike_The_Grad]

Steeveedee- wow. You know the thought crossed my mind. But what I've been hearing is that the Thomas Fire may have started because of some Edison Utilities equipment malfunction. The winds were unbelievably fast and strong this week. The worst I've experienced as far as I can remember. If it wasn't so dry out, I'd of thought we were going to have a hurricane. I live in thousands oaks now and am always in simi valley. Im glad the Rye Fire hasnt come our way.

El_fantasma- my grandmother lives on Loma Vista. It is all there. She wasn't even evacuated. The fire was on the north side of Monte Vista though. Monte Vista was evacuated, but from what I hear there were no homes lost. My family lives on Ojai Rd. Across from the Oaks. There is a large ranch property next door to them and half of the property was scorched. Thankfully the people who maintain the property do an excellent job of maintaining the fields and dont allow overgrowth next to any structures on the property. If not for that the fire would have surely reached our home and numerous others.

[GOPAPA]

My son did live in Thousand Oaks but just recently moved to Los Olivos and he said so far he is just getting smoke ,,but what a change of temp,,,, in the morning it is frosty last week and in the after noon 90 degrees..

[Mike_The_Grad]

GOPAPA- yes, there has been changes in the temp since the beginning of November that are keeping us guessing. It was in the low 40's and upper 30's a couple of nights, and I know it because I was outside working on my truck.lol. But this recent Santa Ana Wind event has been the strongest and longest this year. The strongest in quite some time from what records say.

The wind has finally shifted in OUR favor, by blowing the smoke northwards away from Santa Paula and Ventura. Now the fire is being pushed even more so to the north. There's nothing but forest and rural areas in that direction. Access is limited for fire personnel if it reaches that far. The newest tactic the fire agencies are using is going ahead of the fire several miles and setting small fires to create a fire line that can be cleared and protected in order to head off the fire.

One thing I've heard the fire agencies say is that they are aiming for full containment of the Thomas Fire by Christmas Eve of this year.

[Mike_The_Grad]

I was on the east end of Santa Paula lastnight getting gas when a U.S. Forest Service truck pulled up behind me. When the guy got out i asked if he was assigned to the Thomas Fire, he said yes. I tols him Thank You, and that i know he is away from his family but if he and all of the other firefighters were not here, i might not have my family or some of my friends. He said "I'm just helping out, I didn't really have a choice as a first responder." I said "B.S. you had a choice when you signed up years ago. You guys do a job many people won't do. Me included, but I helped my friends and family just like you are here helping us. We are just like you and your friends and family, we like to hang out and drink beer, BBQ and spend time with family. We both live in California, (He resides in Arroyo Grande, about 100 miles up the coast from Santa Paula.) And we both live in these United States. We help eachother out because that's what we do and that's who we are."
He replied, "You know what, You're right."

As I finished pumping he asked if I wanted a map. I said "Hell yeah I do." And he handed me a rolled up print dated: 12/12/2017 titled: Thomas Incident. It is the most up to date information as of the start of his shift yesterday morning. It is given to the various crews before they begin their shift, not for public use but for work.

Thank you Phil. This is my history and I plan on having it framed or at the least laminated.

[GOPAPA]

Thx Mike I am sending the photo that Nassa took to my son ,, Wasn't these winds early this year? glad you have a home still and very sorry for the ones that lost theirs.. I was wondering if the state could have some controlled burns when the wind wasn;t blowing ahead of time ?

[pritch]

I grew up is Santa Barbara, on the north end by Goleta. Still have friends out there. We lived in Ventura Co some, too. Montalvo (sp?) Wonder if it's still there? Some of the pictures I've seen looked like it was fairly close to there. It was '69 when I lived there, 5th grade. Sad to see burn.

['63GENIII]

Stay safe there Mike. Help where you can, hope when you can't.

My family got an evac order during the Avery Fire a few years ago. Had to drive 3 hours to get them packed out.

The fire at Cobb Mountain last year burned down an entire neighborhood where I spent a bunch of childhood Summers

The Atlas Fire.. Lots of friends and family there also lost homes. That was unbelievable.


The fires that we've been seeing have been surreal. Stay safe there Mike.

Keeping all who are in harms way especially the ones battling the fires in our thoughts.

[Mike_The_Grad]

GOPAPA- That has been the newly adopted effort in hopes of containment. The winds in my neighborhood and mostly the Santa Paula/Fillmore area have greatly calmed down. One side effect of this though is that the smoke lingers and makes being outdoors uncomfortable. The past few days have actually been somewhat "normal" but in the evening the smoke starts "rolling in" and lasts until the morning time.

PRITCH- yes, the montalvo area of Ventura was spared. The majority of neighborhoods effected have been in the foothills north of Ventura and Santa Paula. These firefighters have done an amazing job of protecting life and property. Sadly not all were so fortunate, but it wasn't without a tremendous effort.

'63GENIII- Having been evacuated from two different locations in the first 24 hours of the fire has shown me what it truly means to be "neighborly" and "family". I have friends that i havent talked to in years come offering help and checking on the family. It lets me know that my relationships i established while i was younger are still as strong as ever. Im happy to have the life I have and love Santa Paula and Ventura County in general.

Thank You all that have taken time out of your life to hear my story and hold all of us in your thoughts and prayers. The Thomas Fire has only grown in size and still continues to burn, heading north towards Santa Barbara and beyond. The firefighters and law enforcement agencies are the real reason why I and many other people still have a home and a safe neighborhood.

[kwmech]

Sooo, whats the story update on your friend?

[Mike_The_Grad]

kwmech-
Thank you for asking about my friend.

My friends name is Adam Kelly. He is 34 years old. He is alive, and conscious. He has undergone facial reconstructive surgery that I know of. I haven't visited him in a few weeks. My family and friends have visited him recently. I actually am going to visit him tomorow afternoon. I have been waiting for some time to pass in order for him to kind of "take it all in". And to have a better understanding as to what his future may be. I've heard a few different things from friends and family. And it seems to change as time progresses. One thing is for sure he is making progress. He has a very long road ahead of him as far as recovery. He may require round-the-clock assistance for the rest of his life. I haven't heard any developments as to the cause or reason for his current condition, and it's frustrating to say the least. He may or may not ever truly remember what happend. I will have a better understanding, personally, after I visit him tomorrow. It's something I've been trying to prepare myself for, especially after my last visit with him.

I appreciate your inquiry about my friend though. Thank You.

[jeffahart]

Fire season sucks! Here's a Lion they just captured up the street from my house. Her paws are burnt and she is very skinny from not being able to hunt. Looks like fish and game will rehab her and turn her back loose.

j

[Rickysnickers]

What a beautiful animal! I hope she gets better.

[Andy4639]

I will be praying for you and your family and friends. Hope these fires will be put out and soon. Stay safe and keep your eyes open.I can't even begin to know how all of you are dealing with all the fires and smoke.

[Mike_The_Grad]

The effects of the Thomas Fire are still being felt in and around my neighborhood and neighboring cities.

My dad was on his way to work Tuesday morning when the rain was at its worst in the Montecito area. He works in Goleta and makes the 110 mile round trip 7 days a week. He works in the oil industry and is currently on swing shifts 7-on/ 7-off. He leaves our hoise in Santa Paula every morning at 4:15 a.m. He was on the North bound side of the 101 just past the Sheffield on-ramp when a mudslide hit his car and the other traffic alongside him. It pushed his car, a 2010 Chevy Malibu, sideways. He was doing about 50 M.P.H. because of how hard the rain was coming down. A truck carrying 70,000 Lbs. of Beer on a local delivery route was completely lifted off the ground also. Luckily my dad and everyone else traveling around him were ok. They were all stuck on the 101 for 8 hrs. Until the roadway could be cleared enough for them to turn around and head south. The freeway is closed from Ventura to Santa Barbara and isn't expected to reopen until Monday. Over 16 people have be confirmed dead in the Montecito area due to massive and fast moving mudslides catching people offfguard asleep in their homes. 30 people are still missing.

If my dad had been 5-10 minutes earlier on his way to work he would have hit the worst part of the 101 at Olive Mill Rd. The mud is over 3 or 4 feet deep. People had drivin straight into it with out even knowing it.

Me and my family are lucky to have him here with us still.

More people have lost their lives in the last 48 hours than in the entire time that the Thomas Fire burned, almost a month.
The Thomas Fire is the most devastating fire to strike California in its recorded history, dating back to 1832. 2017 is the most Costliest year in U.S. History due to natural disasters.

[Mike_The_Grad]

This is the 101 freeway at Olive Mill Rd. in Montecito.

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by Mike_The_Grad

The effects of the Thomas Fire are still being felt in and around my neighborhood and neighboring cities.

My dad was on his way to work Tuesday morning when the rain was at its worst in the Montecito area. He works in Goleta and makes the 110 mile round trip 7 days a week. He works in the oil industry and is currently on swing shifts 7-on/ 7-off. He leaves our hoise in Santa Paula every morning at 4:15 a.m. He was on the North bound side of the 101 just past the Sheffield on-ramp when a mudslide hit his car and the other traffic alongside him. It pushed his car, a 2010 Chevy Malibu, sideways. He was doing about 50 M.P.H. because of how hard the rain was coming down. A truck carrying 70,000 Lbs. of Beer on a local delivery route was completely lifted off the ground also. Luckily my dad and everyone else traveling around him were ok. They were all stuck on the 101 for 8 hrs. Until the roadway could be cleared enough for them to turn around and head south. The freeway is closed from Ventura to Santa Barbara and isn't expected to reopen until Monday. Over 16 people have be confirmed dead in the Montecito area due to massive and fast moving mudslides catching people offfguard asleep in their homes. 30 people are still missing.

If my dad had been 5-10 minutes earlier on his way to work he would have hit the worst part of the 101 at Olive Mill Rd. The mud is over 3 or 4 feet deep. People had drivin straight into it with out even knowing it.

Me and my family are lucky to have him here with us still.

More people have lost their lives in the last 48 hours than in the entire time that the Thomas Fire burned, almost a month.
The Thomas Fire is the most devastating fire to strike California in its recorded history, dating back to 1832. 2017 is the most Costliest year in U.S. History due to natural disasters.

Again Mike,, glad your dad made it ok ,, my son is north of where this happened and was on the road to a meeting in LA ,,I think he said he would of been in too ,but heard on the radio before he got that far from Los Olivos going towards it..