Largest California fire eyes communities northwest of Los Angeles - live updates

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Flames from the largest and most destructive Southern California wildfire, known as the Thomas Fire, churned toward coastal and mountain communities northwest of Los Angeles on Thursday, disrupting travel on a major highway and triggering more evacuations.

The first death was reported Thursday, CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor reported. The burned body of a woman was found next to her flipped-over car in Ventura County.

The six fires, driven by powerful Santa Ana winds, have now burned hundreds of thousands of acres -- and there appears to be no end in sight. More than 100 homes have been destroyed or damaged, and at least 330,000 people have been evacuated.

Follow along below for live updates on the fires. All times are Eastern unless otherwise noted.

11:52 p.m.: Some evacuation orders lifted for Skirball Fire

The Skirball Fire has burned 475 acres east of the 405 Freeway near Mulholland Dr., taking with it four homes and damaging 12 others, CBS Los Angeles reports. The fire is 20 percent contained as of Thursday night.

Some residents of the area were allowed to return to their homes Thursday night, CBS Los Angeles reports. 

Residents of the area will be allowed to return home after 8:00 p.m. Thursday on the following streets only:  

10:32 p.m.: Wildfire destroys mobile homes in California retirement park

Dozens of trailer homes in a retirement community and killing race horses at an elite training facility were destroyed in San Diego County as one of the state's wildfires moved through. 

The fire expanded to 4 square miles in a matter of hours and tore through the tightly packed Rancho Monserate Country Club community in the small city of Fallbrook, known for its avocado orchards and horse ranches. At least two people were hospitalized with burns.

The destructive blaze broke out as firefighters tried to corral the largest fire in the state that was burning around Ventura - 130 miles  to the north - and destroyed 430 buildings as it grew to 180 square miles. Fire crews were also fighting large fires around Los Angeles, but they made enough progress to lift most evacuation orders.

Like other fires that have broken out this week, Fallbrook has a history of destructive blazes. Ten years ago, as a series of fires raced across Southern California, a blaze in Fallbrook injured five people, destroyed 206 homes and burned 14 square miles.

8:03 p.m.: Lilac Fire reaches 2,500 acres

The Lilac Fire, located in San Diego County, has spread to 2,500 acres in just five hours since it started, according to Cal Fire.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in San Diego County.  

6:02 p.m.: Fire text alert sent to 12 million in California

A text alert about dangerous fire weather conditions that was sent to 12 million Southern Californians in seven counties was the widest ever issued by the state Office of Emergency Services.

Winds early Thursday turned out not to be as dire as predicted, but Emergency Service Deputy Director Kelly Huston says the office erred on the side of caution because conditions were similar to those that led to 44 deaths in fires that broke out across Northern California on Oct. 8.

Huston says he would rather be criticized for potentially annoying someone than for not delivering a critical alert.

Some Northern Californians complained they never received evacuation alerts as the firestorms developed, and state lawmakers on Thursday announced plans to introduce legislation establishing statewide emergency alert protocols.

5:34 p.m.: Ojai, mountain town known as "Shangri-La," threatened

In Ojai, the normally bustling town was practically vacant as smoke hung along the surrounding hillsides. Known as "Shangri-La," both for its role as the stand-in for a Himalayan utopia in the 1937 Frank Capra movie "Lost Horizon" and for the magical vibe it is said to have, the town has attracted artists, hippies and spiritual thinkers for generations. 

It is a popular getaway some 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles for visitors looking for tranquil hikes, farm-to-table dining and spa treatments that include aromatherapy and a modern-day sweat lodge.

Like many of the places that have seen repeated catastrophic fires, such as Malibu or Bel-Air, which continued to smolder from a fire that destroyed four homes Wednesday, it is an alluring place to live but one that is also prone to burn.

"Part of it is the natural beauty of the area," said Ventura County Fire Capt. Brendan Ripley. "The brush-covered hills, the rock formations, the steep terrain ... all of that helps to promote very active fire behavior."

Ojai's downtown burned 100 years ago, and it has been skirted by two of the biggest fires in California history: One in 1932 and another in 1985.

The town is typically sheltered from the strong Santa Ana winds that blow in from the desert. But it is surrounded by dry brush that hasn't burned in years. 

4:37 p.m.: Critical conditions expected until weekend

Critical fire weather conditions were expected to continue until Saturday.

Cal Fire said red flag warnings were in effect until then for much of Southern California and parts of neighboring Arizona.

4:09 p.m.: Lilac Fire breaks out in San Diego County

Firefighters were battling a fire in San Diego County that started Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire.

The so-called Lilac Fire ranged in size between 100 and 150 acres.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in parts of Bonsall, about 45 miles north of San Diego.

The fire has destroyed at least two structures and damaged a dozen more.

San Diego is about 120 miles south of Los Angeles.

3:29 p.m.: Thomas Fire jumps across 101 Freeway

Flames from the Thomas Fire that's tearing through Ventura County jumped across to the west side of the 101 Freeway Thursday morning, CBS Los Angeles reports.

At around 11 a.m., flames were shooting hundreds of feet into the air as plumes of black smoke engulfed palm trees and brush right up against the beach side of the freeway at Faria Beach. Traffic was moving in both directions.

The wind appeared to be pushing the flames north.

A California Highway Patrol officer was on scene, but there did not appear to be any major traffic enforcement. Earlier, the 101 was closed between state routes 150 and 126 but had since reopened.

The Thomas Fire has burned through 96,000 acres and is only 10 percent contained. Thousands of people remain under a mandatory evacuation order.

2:38 p.m.: Creek Fire scorches more than 12,605 acres

Although they expect violent wind gusts, crews battling the Creek Fire in the hills above Sylmar will try to gain momentum Thursday against a wind-driven blaze that has destroyed or damaged at least 30 homes and threatened thousands of others, CBS Los Angeles reports.

The fire, which has scorched 12,605 acres, broke out at 3:42 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Gold Creek and Little Tujunga roads in the Kagel Canyon area. More than 1,600 firefighters and other personnel were deployed against the fire, which was 10 percent contained as of Thursday.

Mandatory evacuations were in place Thursday for the areas north of the 210 Freeway, from Glenoaks Boulevard to Haines Canyon Avenue, as well as south of the 210 Freeway, west of Sunland Boulevard and Stonehurst Avenue, and north of La Tuna Canyon Road.

The communities of Kagel Canyon, Lakeview Terrace, Sunland, Sylmar, Pacoima, Lopez Canyon and Shadow Hills also were under evacuation orders.

Virginia Padilla, whose family owns a ranch in Sylmar, told reporters the fire killed at least 30 of the ranch's horses. Padilla said she and her family were able to get out of her home just in time Tuesday morning but were not able to take their horses with them.

All Los Angeles Unified School District schools in the San Fernando Valley and some on the west side of Los Angeles — a total of 265 district schools and charter schools — were closed Thursday and Friday, district officials said. A full list of closed schools was available at lausd.net.  

An estimated 2,500 structures were threatened by the Creek Fire at one point, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which was fighting the blaze in a unified command with the Los Angeles city and county fire departments.

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas warned that the battle was likely to continue until at least Friday.

The LAFD's "brush burning index" that rates the fire danger was at 296 — "the highest number I've ever seen in my career," according to Terrazas. He said the usual threshold for extreme fire conditions is 165.

2:25 p.m.: Skirball Fire burns at least 475 acres

The Skirball Fire in the Sepulveda Pass may be the smallest of the wildfires burning in Southern California, but it has had impact on one of the densest areas of Los Angeles, CBS Los Angeles reports.

The Skirball Fire has burned at least 475 acres and is 20 percent contained after the blaze broke out early Wednesday morning and destroyed at least four homes and damaged 12 others in short order. One firefighter was reported injured.

The fire was kept to the east side of the 405 Freeway, which was shut down on both sides at the peak of the morning commute, CBS Los Angeles reports. The freeway is the main artery between the bedroom communities of the San Fernando Valley and the corporate and commercial centers of West Los Angeles and beyond.  

The Getty Center and the nearby Skirball Center, both on the west side of the freeway, did not appear to be threatened, though both will remain closed Thursday.  

About 700 homes and an apartment building were evacuated. One elementary school was also evacuated, LAFD Deputy Chief Charles Butler said.

Fifty-two Los Angeles Unified School District schools and another 40 charter schools citywide will be closed amid smoky air through Friday in response to the Skirball Fire and other blazes in the area, a district official said.

Evacuation centers have been established at Delano Recreation Center, 15100 Erwin St., Van Nuys; Balboa RC, 17015 Burbank Blvd., Van Nuys; Sherman Oaks RC, 14201 Huston St., Sherman Oaks; and Westwood RC, 1350 Sepulveda Blvd., Westwood.

2:00 p.m.: Body found after crash in fire evacuation zone

A sheriff's official says a woman has been found dead after a car crash in an area under a mandatory evacuation order as the Thomas Fire raged in Southern California.

Ventura County sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Donoghue tells The Associated Press that the woman's body was found Wednesday night at the scene of a crash in the Wheeler Canyon area of Santa Paula.

Donoghue says the car was found off the roadway after what appeared to be a single-car crash. He says there were no witnesses to the crash, but no foul play is suspected.

Donoghue says investigators were still trying to determine if the death was connected to the wildfires or if the person was trying to evacuate from the area.

The woman's name hasn't been released and a cause of death is still being determined.

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