More Arizona firefighters sent to battle California wildfires

PHOENIX — More Arizona firefighters have been sent to battle the massive wildfires burning north of Los Angeles, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management announced Saturday.

The department said six more crews from the state were headed to battle the devastating wildfires. This move means a total of 168 Arizona firefighters are currently helping with the environmental disaster.

Six more #Arizona crews headed to #CaliforniaWildfires @sfmd_az_gov, @AZAvondaleFire, @HellsgateFire, @STJFD, #ThreePointsFD, #TontoBasinFD. 168 AZ firefighters supporting CA. Be safe! #AZForestry pic.twitter.com/tCid9UyM49

— AZ State Forestry (@azstateforestry) December 17, 2017

The latest addition also means that firefighters have a lengthy battle to putting out the flames ahead of them — not the best sign this close to the holidays.

About 150 Arizona firefighters were sent out to the scene at the beginning of December, shortly after the flames began sprouting. A majority of the firefighters were used as strike teams on the front lines of the fire and to protect structures.

Firefighters are attempting to take advantage of less powerful wind gusts on Sunday to prevent one of the biggest fires in California’s history from consuming homes in Santa Barbara and the nearby wealthy enclave of Montecito.

The 420-square-mile blaze called the Thomas Fire was moving rapidly westward and crested Montecito Peak, just north of Montecito. Known for its star power, the enclave boasts the mansions of Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and many other celebrities.

The fire started nearly two weeks ago and has burned at least 700 residences and killed a firefighter, but fire information officer Lisa Cox said firefighters saved thousands of homes from being destroyed.

The firefighter who was killed, Cory Iverson, 32, died Thursday of burns and smoke inhalation, according to autopsy results. A funeral procession was planned for him Sunday.

Since the fire began on Dec. 4, about 95,000 people have been placed under mandatory evacuation. The evacuation zone near Santa Barbara on Saturday was 17 miles (27 kilometers) long and up to 5 miles (8 kilometers) wide and the new expansion encompassed about 3,300 people.

There was a spot of good news down the coast. Emergency officials announced that the same fire that was burning about 25 miles southeast of Montecito was 40 percent contained.

Everything about the fire has been massive, from the sheer scale of destruction that cremated entire neighborhoods to the legions attacking it: about 8,300 firefighters from nearly a dozen states, aided by 78 bulldozers and 29 helicopters. It’s the third largest wildfire in state history.

The cause remains under investigation. So far, firefighting costs have surpassed $117 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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