Ask the Lord to comfort and help those who have lost life, property, and jobs through this tragic event.

“In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, [even] into his ears.”  (Ps 18:6-7)

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“Santa Barbara County was under siege from the Thomas fire Sunday as fire crews fought to keep the destructive blaze from the region’s picturesque beach communities.

Authorities said the out-of-control blaze had scorched 230,000 acres by Sunday evening, making it the fifth largest wildfire in modern California history.

The fire grew by more than 50,000 acres during the day, triggering new evacuation orders for about 5,000 county residents, including those east of Mission Canyon and north of Highway 192. An additional 30,000 residents west of Mission Canyon to Highway 154 and south of Highway 192 to the county line were told to prepare to leave….

The blaze has destroyed 524 structures and damaged 135 in the city of Ventura. In the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, 266 structures have been destroyed, while 56 were damaged. The fire consumed six structures on Sunday in beach town of Carpinteria, authorities said.

Santa Ana winds, aided by extremely low humidity, pushed the Ventura County fire over the Santa Barbara County line Saturday night. The winds that bedeviled fire crews from San Diego to Ojai last week were gusting at speeds of up to 35 mph, fire officials said.

Their greatest concern was for Carpinteria. The fire was moving west above the city in an area of very dry vegetation that hasn’t burned in about 100 years, said Steve Swindle, spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

‘The fuels in there are thick and they’re dead so they’re very receptive to fire,’ Swindle said….

At least 46 horses were killed at a thoroughbred training facility, San Luis Rey Downs in Bonsall, where an estimated 450 were stabled. Mike Marten, a spokesman for the California Horse Racing Board, said Saturday that a small number of horses had escaped to the wilderness through a fence that was knocked down and had yet to be found.” (Excerpted from  LA Times, reporting by Melissa Etehad, Ruben Vives, Harriet Ryan, and Alene Tchekmedyian.)