Updates on the Thomas, Rye and Skirball fires. Plus, ways to keep your home safe against flames, then FEMA efforts in Southern California.
Thomas Fire grows to the size of Detroit
The Thomas fire continues to rage throughout Ventura County. As of Thursday morning, the burn area was 96,000 acres – an area about the size of Detroit.
"The fires are predicted to increase throughout the day," said Tom Kruschke, information officer at Ventura County Fire Department. "We want people, if they're in one of the mandatory evacuation areas, if they haven't left yet – leave now."
Extreme winds that are borderline hurricane strength are projected to whip through the area today, too, possibly increasing the flames or blowing them farther out.
Some Ojai residents like veterinarian Dr. John Halford were able to check in on their communities to survey the damage.
"It's just unbelievable," he tells Take Two. "The whole upper Ojai valley is burned. I'm in front of a house where there's three houses that burned."
Halford also helped to evacuate his clients' animals, while also search for missing animals of his own.
To hear more about Dr. Halford's experience with the Thomas Fire in Ojai, click the blue audio player above.
These 5 things will (hopefully) keep your house from burning down
Most homes that burn during a wildfire aren't ignited by dry brush. They are set on fire by embers landing on the roof, through vents or on decks and porches. As fire continues to rage in Ventura, Sylmar, Santa Clarita and Bel Air, Take Two spoke with Tom Welle of the National Fire Protection Association about how to make a house more ignition resistant.
1. The most important thing to secure is your roof
"The roof can sometimes be the most vulnerable because it's a huge surface area. If you have a Class A roof — a metal roof or an asphalt roof — you should be good there. The most dangerous are those wood shingles. You can always check with your local building inspector to see if yours is up to date."
2. Metal mesh on vents
"We recommend that you have 1/8th inch of metal screening over vents — that will prevent embers that might enter the building. The mesh has to be metal. Plastics or other synthetic materials might melt and catch fire."
3. For windows, go with tempered glass
"Normally windows fail because you got a lot of heat on the full pane of the glass. The glass might shatter and you get heat directly coming into the house. Double-pane glasses will protect the inner one to some degree. Tempered glass material will prevent glasses from fully breaking."
4. Clearing vegetation protects walls
"The most important thing with walls is getting combustible materials at least 5 feet away. Pay special attention to mulch — those around the house will catch little fire, and that will grow."
5. Is your patio furniture flammable?
"Wooden decks and wooden furniture are especially vulnerable. You could build your deck with ignition-resistant materials. They last longer and take less maintenance than wooden ones. Also important is what's above and underneath the deck. If you have combustible cushions, get them out of there before you evacuate. In addition, separating the fence from the wall can make all the difference."
For bonus reinforcement, check out our chat about "firescaping," which explores how to create fire-resistant landscapes.
Click on the blue media player above for the full interview about how to make a home fire-resistant.
How can we keep traffic flowing during emergencies like wildfires?
The Ride: Car companies get into the home energy storage business
With all the fires raging here in Southern California, hundreds of thousands of people have experienced power outages. The usual go-to for backup power is a gas-powered generator.
But there's another option: home energy storage. That's the system that lets homeowners store electricity in a battery for later use. (Clarification: Take Two's on-air conversation said these systems require homeowners to have solar panels; the systems work with our without solar.)
Motor critic Sue Carpenter joined Take Two host A Martinez to talk about how the systems work and why Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other car companies are getting into it.
How home energy storage can help during a blackout
Home energy storage systems work by storing electricity in a battery that's also at the home -- usually in the garage. They often work in conjunction with solar panels. Because solar generates electricity during the day when most people aren't home to use that electricity, the battery means people can store the power to use it when they need it -- which is usually at night. But they can also use it during emergencies like the fires California is currently experiencing, which have caused hundreds of thousands of people to lose power. It depends on the size of the battery, but a lot of these systems can store a week's worth of electricity to keep the lights on and the cell phones charged and the refrigerator running.
How it works when the power goes out
Using the Tesla Powerwall as an example, it will detect the outage, disconnect from the grid, and automatically restore power within a split second, so homeowners won't even know the power's gone out. During an outage, the rooftop solar system will continue powering the house and recharging the battery. With a home that only has solar, without energy storage, the solar shuts down so the home is without power like everyone else.
Which car companies offer home energy storage
Tesla began offering its Powerwall system in 2015. This summer, Mercedes-Benz Energy started offering residential systems that offer solar roof installations and energy storage in a Mercedes battery. And BMW is currently experimenting with a small number of residential energy storage systems in the US. In California, BMW plans to install several battery storage systems at customer homes in 2018.
In addition to those companies, General Motors, Tesla, Nissan and Hyundai are all working on large-scale energy storage systems for utilities using the same batteries that power their cars.
To hear the entire Ride segment on car companies getting into home energy storage, click the blue media player.
Caravan Outpost threatened as Thomas Fire spreads
As the Thomas Fire spreads in Ventura County, an oasis in Ojai is under threat. Caravan Outpost, a hotel that uses Airstream trailers for its guest rooms, has been evacuated.
Take Two spoke with Brad Steward, co-owner of the boutique hotel, to find out what's happening.
"I'm bouncing back and forth between Ojai and a place in Goleta where I had my family set up," Steward said. "And the biggest issue we've been having is just getting accurate information."
Caravan Outpost is situated in the industrial zone of Ojai, which has been helpful.
"The fires remains in the mountains, at the will of the wind," Steward said.
The Caravan Outpost may be the only hotel in Ojai that can move its guest rooms out of the affected area because Airstreams can be driven out of harm's way. Steward now is working on a contingency plan to be flexible with the situation.
"We are not doing a whole lot now other than making sure the area and our perimeters are safe," Steward said, "and most importantly, the people are safe."
Click on the blue media player above to hear the full interview
How FEMA met the needs of NorCal residents affected by fire
When Southern California's fires subside, recovery will take place, bringing with it the challenge of finding housing for those who've lost their homes. The hurdles that many will face could be similar to those experienced by people residing in Sonoma, Napa and Yuba Counties when fires devastated that region in October.
California Governor Jerry Brown has already declared a state of emergency in LA and Ventura Counties — much like he did up north following the wine country fires. That prompted the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get involved.
FEMA external affairs officer Victor Inge says relief efforts in Northern California in October were a massive undertaking:
It was a huge challenge. We have US citizens — Californians who were forced from their homes. People are upset. They're in shock. And what we try and do is bring some humanity to what some may feel is a bureaucratic government agency. We're not; we're people.
The main thing is to try to meet the disaster survivor and have them understand even though they've lost belongings, things can be replaced but lives can't.