Thomas Fire Now Larger Than Rim Fire

Los Angeles, CA — A wildfire burning in Southern California is the third largest in the state’s recorded history.

The Thomas Fire in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties has grown to 270,000 acres, exceeding the size of the 2013 Rim Fire (257,314 acres), and is the third largest in the state’s recorded history. The largest fire is the Cedar incident of 2003 that burned 273,246 acres in San Diego County and the second is the 2012 Rush Fire in Lassen County that burned 271,911 acres.

The Thomas Fire is 45-percent contained. Over the weekend crews focused on building containment lines above hillsides in Santa Barbara neighborhoods. Over 1,000 structures have been destroyed.

Also, the funeral was held Sunday for firefighter Cory Iverson who was sadly killed while battling the massive Thomas Fire. Iverson, who was stationed out of San Diego, has local ties to the Mother Lode, as back in 2015 he was based at the Columbia Air Attack and drove a Heli-tender truck.