Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
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.