© Mike Eliason/APFlames from a back firing operation rise behind a home in Santa Barbara, California.
It's still wildfire season in California. If you're wondering when the season ends, it's November 20th, although as you may have noticed, it's still going strong. In fact, for the last decade or so, California's 'new normal' is that wildfires continue erupting
for an extra two months, and this year they may burn well past that into February.
New evacuation orders were issued this past weekend in Santa Barbara County, making downtown Santa Barbara
a virtual ghost town as the Thomas fire moved closer. Wind gusts of up to 60mph pushed what is now
the third-largest wildfire in California's history towards Montecito, the wealthiest city in Santa Barbara County. The rich and famous - like Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres - have fled too, but fear not,
their homes are less likely to burn because
they pay private insurance to hire private 'concierge firefighters' to protect their homes.
Fire officials said Saturday that the Thomas fire, which started December 4, had now burned nearly
105,000 hectares (400 square miles), leaving a footprint larger than those of some cities. The fire is said to be about 40 percent contained, but fire officials added that about 18,000 structures remain threatened, and that high winds could kick up new blazes by flinging embers far from the heart of the inferno.
Comment: A rare recent blast of winter weather has dusted Louisiana with snow, shutting down much of the state. There has also been record snowfall in Houston, Texas and Alabama. Across the U.S. all 50 states have recorded snow two weeks ahead of Christmas.
Meanwhile just over a week ago, Alaska recorded one of the most extreme snowfall rates on record - when an incredible 10 inches of snow piled up in one hour. In the end, 40 inches of heavy wet snow accumulated in 12 hours.