document_title: The Flintstones

question_text: who is the original voice of fred flintstone

text: The Flintstones

text: Overview[edit]

text: This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. (October 2017)

text: The show's premise is that it is set in a comical, satirical version of the "Stone Age" which, in spite of using primitive technology, resembles mid-20th century suburban America.  The plots deliberately resemble the sitcoms of the era, with the caveman Flintstone and Rubble families  getting into minor conflicts characteristic of modern life.  The show is set in the Stone Age town of Bedrock (pop. 2500). In this fantasy version of the past, dinosaurs and other long-extinct animals co-exist with cavemen, saber-toothed cats, and woolly mammoths.

text: Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman considers that the series draws its humor in part from creative uses of anachronisms. The main one is the placing of a "modern", 20th-century society in prehistory. This society takes inspiration from the suburban sprawl developed in the first two decades of the postwar period. This society has modern home appliances, but they work by employing animals.[9] They have automobiles, but they hardly resemble the cars of the 20th century. These cars are large wooden structures and burn no fuel. They are powered by people who run while inside them. Finally, the stone houses of this society are cookie-cutter homes positioned into typical neighborhoods.[10]

text: Characters[edit]

text: The Flintstones[edit]

text:
Fred Flintstone is the main character of the series. Fred is an accident-prone bronto-crane operator at the Slate Rock and Gravel Company and the head of the Flintstone household. He is quick to anger (usually over trivial matters), but is a very loving husband and father. He is also good at bowling and is a member of the fictional "Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes" (Lodge No. 26), a men-only club paralleling real-life fraternities such as the Loyal Order of Moose. His famous catchphrase is "Yabba Dabba Doo!"
Wilma Flintstone is Fred's wife and Pebbles' mother. She is more intelligent and level-headed than her husband, though she often has a habit of spending money (with Betty and her catchphrase being "Da-da-da duh da-da CHARGE IT!!"). She often is a foil to Fred's poor behavior.
Pebbles Flintstone is the Flintstones' infant daughter, who is born near the end of the third season.
Dino is the Flintstones' pet dinosaur that acts like a dog. A running gag in the series involves Fred coming home from work and Dino getting excited and knocking him down and licking his face repeatedly.
Baby Puss is the Flintstones' pet saber-toothed cat, which is rarely seen in the actual series, but is always seen throwing Fred out of the house during the end credits, causing Fred to pound repeatedly on the front door and yell "Wilma!", waking the whole neighborhood in the process.

text: The Rubbles[edit]

text:
Barney Rubble is the secondary main character and Fred's best friend and next-door neighbor. His occupation is, for the most part of the series, unknown, though later episodes depict him working in the same quarry as Fred. He shares many of Fred's interests such as bowling and golf, and is also a member of the "Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes". Though Fred and Barney frequently get into feuds with one another (usually due to Fred's short temper), their deep fraternal bond remains evident.
Betty Rubble is Barney's wife and Wilma's best friend. Like Wilma, she, too, is slightly more intelligent than her husband and has a habit of spending money.
Bamm-Bamm Rubble is the Rubbles' preternaturally strong adopted son, whom they adopt during the fourth season; his name comes from the only phrase he ever speaks as a baby: "Bamm, Bamm!"
Hoppy is the Rubbles' pet hopparoo (a kangaroo/dinosaur combination creature), which they purchase in the beginning of the fifth season. When he first arrives, Dino and Fred mistake him for a giant mouse and are frightened of him, but they eventually become best friends after Hoppy gets help when they are in an accident. He babysits the kids as he takes them around in his pouch, which also serves as a shopping cart for Betty.

text: Other characters[edit]

text: Over 100 other characters appeared throughout the program.[11]

text:
Mr. Slate is Fred and Barney's hot-tempered boss at the gravel pit. Mr. Slate fires Fred on several occasions throughout the series, only to give him his job back by the end of the episode. A running gag is Slate's ever-changing first name, which was revealed to be Sylvester, Nate, Oscar, and George as the series progressed. In the episode "The Long, Long Weekend" which originally aired on January 21, 1966, he is shown as being the founder of "Slate Rock and Gravel Company"; still in business two million years later, the company is operated by his descendant, "George Slate the Eighty-Thousandth".  Note, in the early Flintstones episodes, the more recognized "Mr. Slate" character was known as "Mr. Rockhead" and was a supervisor of Fred's.  Mr. Slate was a short character.  During the course of the cartoon, the two men switched identities and the shorter character faded away from existence.
Arnold is the Flintstones' paper boy, whom Fred absolutely despises, mainly because Arnold is frequently able to best and outsmart Fred at a number of tasks and also because he often ("unintentionally") throws the newspaper in Fred's face. Arnold's parents are mentioned in the series, but his mother Doris, a friend of Wilma and Betty's (as evidenced in the episode "The Little Stranger", which originally aired on November 2, 1962), is referenced in name only, never actually appearing on screen. Arnold's father, however, did appear in the episode "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", which originally aired on April 27, 1962, though his name is never mentioned.
Joe Rockhead is a mutual friend of Fred and Barney. Usually, when Fred and Barney have some kind of falling out, Fred mentions doing something (such as going to a baseball game) with Joe. Joe was, at some point, chief of the Bedrock Volunteer Fire Department (as shown on the episode "Arthur Quarry's Dance Class", which originally aired on January 13, 1961). His appearance varied throughout the run of the series, but his appearance in the episode "The Picnic", which originally aired on December 15, 1961, was the one most commonly used.
Pearl Slaghoople is Wilma's hard-to-please mother, Fred's mother-in-law and Pebbles' grandmother, who is constantly disapproving of Fred and his behavior. Their disastrous first meeting was recounted in the episode "Bachelor Daze", which originally aired on March 5, 1964. They briefly reconciled in the episode "Mother-in-Law's Visit", which originally aired on February 1, 1963. That is, until, she found out that she became Fred's "nice fat pigeon" when he suckered her out of money that he needed to buy a baby crib for Pebbles. They reconciled again at the end of the TV movie I Yabba Dabba Do.
The Great Gazoo is an alien exiled to Earth that helps Fred and Barney, often against their will. He is actually from the future, and is quite dismayed when he realizes he has been sent back to "the Stone Age". He can only be seen by Fred, Barney, Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, other small children, Dino, and Hoppy. Gazoo appeared in the final season only.
Uncle Tex Hardrock is Fred's maternal uncle and a member of the Texarock Rangers. He constantly holds Fred's future inheritance over his head.
Sam Slagheap is the Grand Poobah of the Water Buffalo Lodge.

text: Voice actors[edit]

text: Fred Flintstone physically resembles both the voice actor who played him, Alan Reed, and Jackie Gleason, whose series, The Honeymooners, inspired The Flintstones.[12] The voice of Barney Rubble was provided by voice actor Mel Blanc, though five episodes during the second season (the first, second, fifth, sixth, and ninth) employed Hanna-Barbera regular Daws Butler while Blanc was incapacitated by a near-fatal car accident. Blanc was able to return to the series much sooner than expected, by virtue of a temporary recording studio for the entire cast set up at Blanc's bedside. Blanc's portrayal of Barney had changed considerably after the accident. In the earliest episodes, Blanc had used a much higher pitch to the point of portraying Barney as a smart-aleck. After his recovery from the accident, Blanc used a deeper voice, quite similar to the voice of the Abominable Snowman he performed in other cartoons, and was shown as somewhat dopier than before.

text: Reed based Fred's voice upon Gleason's Honeymooners interpretation of Ralph Kramden, while Blanc, after a season of using a nasal, high-pitched voice for Barney, eventually adopted a style of voice similar to that used by Art Carney in his portrayal of Ed Norton. The first time the Art Carney-like voice was used was for a few seconds in "The Prowler" (the third episode produced).

text: In a 1986 Playboy interview, Gleason said Alan Reed had done voice-overs for Gleason in his early movies and that he had considered suing Hanna-Barbera for copying The Honeymooners but decided to let it pass.[13] According to Henry Corden, a voice actor and a friend of Gleason's, "Jackie's lawyers told him he could probably have The Flintstones pulled right off the air. But they also told him, 'Do you want to be known as the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air? The guy who took away a show so many kids love, and so many parents love, too?'"[14]

text: Henry Corden's voice became Fred's after Reed's death in 1977, starting with A Flintstone Christmas.[15] Corden had previously provided Fred's singing voice in The Man Called Flintstone[16] and later on The Flintstones children's records. Since 2000, Jeff Bergman, James Arnold Taylor, and Scott Innes (performing both Fred and Barney for Toshiba commercials) have performed the voice of Fred. Since Mel Blanc's death in 1989, Barney has been voiced by Jeff Bergman, Frank Welker, and Kevin Michael Richardson. Various additional character voices were created by Hal Smith, Allan Melvin, Janet Waldo, Daws Butler, and Howard Morris, among others.

text: Voice cast[edit]

text:
Fred Flintstone – Alan Reed (speaking voice only)
Wilma Flintstone/Pebbles Flintstone – Jean Vander Pyl
Barney Rubble – Mel Blanc; Daws Butler (season 2; episodes 1, 2, 5, 6, and 9 only)
Betty Rubble – Bea Benaderet (seasons 1–4); Gerry Johnson (seasons 5–6)
Bamm-Bamm Rubble/Hoppy/Arnold – Don Messick
Dino – Mel Blanc
Mr. Slate – John Stephenson
Mrs. Slaghoople – Verna Felton and Janet Waldo
The Great Gazoo – Harvey Korman

text: Additional voice cast[edit]

text:
Howard Morris
Doug Young
Henry Corden
June Foray

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
Season

Episodes

Originally aired

First aired

Last aired

Pilot

May 1959 (1959-05)

1

28

September 30, 1960 (1960-09-30)

April 7, 1961 (1961-04-07)

2

32

September 15, 1961 (1961-09-15)

April 27, 1962 (1962-04-27)

3

28

September 14, 1962 (1962-09-14)

April 5, 1963 (1963-04-05)

4

26

September 19, 1963 (1963-09-19)

March 12, 1964 (1964-03-12)

5

26

September 17, 1964 (1964-09-17)

March 12, 1965 (1965-03-12)

6

26

September 17, 1965 (1965-09-17)

April 1, 1966 (1966-04-01)

text: Music[edit]

text: The opening and closing credits theme during the first two seasons was called "Rise and Shine", a lively instrumental underscore accompanying Fred on his drive home from work. The tune resembled "The Bugs Bunny Overture (This Is It!)", the theme song of The Bugs Bunny Show, also airing on ABC at the time, and may have been the reason the theme was changed in the third season.[17] Starting in season 3, episode 3 ("Barney the Invisible"), the opening and closing credits theme was the familiar vocal "Meet the Flintstones". This version was recorded with a 22-piece jazz band, and a five-voice singing group called the Skip Jacks. The melody is derived from part of the 'B' section of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 Movement 2, composed in 1801/02.[18] The "Meet the Flintstones" opening was later added to the first two seasons for syndication. The musical underscores were credited to Hoyt Curtin for the show's first five seasons; Ted Nichols took over in 1965 for the final season.[17]

text: History and production[edit]

text: The idea of The Flintstones started after Hanna-Barbera produced The Huckleberry Hound Show and The Quick Draw McGraw Show. Although these programs were successful, they did not have the same wide audience appeal as their previous theatrical cartoon series Tom and Jerry, which entertained both children and the adults who accompanied them. However, since children did not need their parents' supervision to watch television, Hanna-Barbera's output became labeled "kids only". Barbera and Hanna wanted to recapture the adult audience with an animated situation comedy.[19]

text: Barbera and Hanna experimented with hillbillies (a hillbilly theme was later incorporated into two Flintstones episodes, "The Bedrock Hillbillies" and "The Hatrocks and the Gruesomes"), Romans (Hanna-Barbera eventually created The Roman Holidays), pilgrims, and Indians as the settings for the two families before deciding on the Stone Age. According to Barbera, they settled on that because "you could take anything that was current, and convert it to stone-age".[20] Under the working title The Flagstones, the family originally consisted of Fred, Wilma, and their son, Fred, Jr. A brief demonstration film was also created to sell the idea of a "modern stone age family" to sponsors and the network.[21]:3 Animator Kenneth Muse, who worked on the Tom and Jerry cartoons, also worked on the early seasons of The Flintstones.

text: The show imitated and spoofed The Honeymooners, although the early voice characterization for Barney was that of Lou Costello.[22] William Hanna admitted that "At that time, The Honeymooners was the most popular show on the air, and for my bill, it was the funniest show on the air. The characters, I thought, were terrific. Now, that influenced greatly what we did with The Flintstones ... The Honeymooners was there, and we used that as a kind of basis for the concept."[citation needed] However, Joseph Barbera disavowed these claims in a separate interview, stating that, "I don't remember mentioning The Honeymooners when I sold the show. But if people want to compare The Flintstones to The Honeymooners, then great. It's a total compliment. The Honeymooners was one of the greatest shows ever written."[23] Jackie Gleason, creator of The Honeymooners, considered suing Hanna-Barbera Productions, but decided that he did not want to be known as "the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air".[24][25] Another influence was noted during Hanna-Barbera's tenure at MGM, where they were in a friendly competition with fellow cartoon director Tex Avery. In 1955, Avery directed a cartoon entitled "The First Bad Man" (narrated by cowboy legend Tex Ritter). The cartoon concerned the rowdy antics of a bank robber in stone-age Dallas. Many of the visual jokes antedated by many years similar ones used by Hanna-Barbera in the Flintstones series. Many students of American animation point to this cartoon as a progenitive seed of the Flintstones.

text: The concept was also predated by the Stone Age Cartoons series of 12 animated cartoons released from January 1940 to September 1940 by Fleischer Studios. These cartoons show stone age people doing modern things with primitive means. One example is Granite Hotel including characters such as a newsboy, telephone operator, hotel clerk, and a spoof of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.

text: Barbera explained that selling the show to a network and sponsors was not an easy task.

text: Here we were with a brand new thing that had never been done before, an animated prime-time television show. So we developed two storyboards; one was they had a helicopter of some kind and they went to the opera or whatever, and the other was Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble fighting over a swimming pool. So I go back to New York with a portfolio and two half-hour boards. And no-one would even believe that you'd dare to suggest a thing like that, I mean they looked at you and they'd think you're crazy. But slowly the word got out, and I used the presentation which took almost an hour and a half. I would go to the other two boards and tell them what they did, and do all the voices and the sounds and so-on, and I'd stagger back to the hotel and I'd collapse. The phone would ring like crazy, like one time I did Bristol-Myers, the whole company was there. When I got through I'd go back to the hotel the phone would ring and say "the president wasn't at that meeting, could you come back and do it for him." So I had many of those, one time I had two agencies, they'd fill the room I mean God about 40 people, and I did this whole show. I got to know where the laughs were, and where to hit it, nothing; dead, dead, dead. So one of the people at Screen Gems said "This is the worst, those guys...." he was so angry at them. What it was, was that there were two agencies there, and neither one was going to let the other one know they were enjoying it. But I pitched it for eight straight weeks and nobody bought it. So after sitting in New York just wearing out, you know really wearing out. Pitch, pitch, pitch, sometimes five a day. So finally on the very last day I pitched it to ABC, which was a young daring network willing to try new things, and bought the show in 15 minutes. Thank goodness, because this was the very last day and if they hadn't bought it, I would have taken everything down, put it in the archives and never pitched it again. Sometimes I wake up in a cold-sweat thinking this is how close you get to disaster.[20]

text: When the series went into production, the working title The Flagstones was changed, possibly to avoid confusion with the Flagstons, characters in the comic strip Hi and Lois. After spending a brief period in development as The Gladstones (GLadstone being a Los Angeles telephone exchange at the time),[26] Hanna-Barbera settled upon The Flintstones, and the idea of the Flintstones having a child from the start was discarded, with Fred and Wilma starting out as a childless couple. However, some early Flintstones merchandise, such as a 1961 Little Golden Book, included Fred Jr., before it was decided on his removal.[27]

text: Despite the animation and fantasy setting, the series was initially aimed at adult audiences, which was reflected in the comedy writing, which, as noted, resembled the average primetime sitcoms of the era, with the usual family issues resolved with a laugh at the end of each episode, as well as the inclusion of a laugh track. Hanna and Barbera hired many writers from the world of live action, including two of Jackie Gleason's writers, Herbert Finn and Sydney Zelinka, as well as relative newcomer Joanna Lee while still using traditional animation story men such as Warren Foster and Michael Maltese.

text: The Flintstones premiered on September 30, 1960, at 8:30 pm, and quickly became a hit. It was the first American animated show to depict two people of the opposite sex (Fred and Wilma; Barney and Betty) sleeping together in one bed, although Fred and Wilma are sometimes depicted as sleeping in separate beds. For comparison, the first live-action depiction of this in American TV history was in television's first-ever sitcom: 1947's Mary Kay and Johnny.[28]

text: The first two seasons were co-sponsored by Winston cigarettes and the characters appeared in several black-and-white television commercials for Winston[29] (dictated by the custom, at that time, that the star(s) of a TV series often "pitched" their sponsor's product in an "integrated commercial" at the end of the episode).[30]

text: During the third season, Hanna and Barbera decided that Fred and Wilma should have a baby. Originally, Hanna and Barbera intended for the Flintstone family to have a boy, the head of the marketing department convinced them to change it to a girl since "girl dolls sell a lot better than boy dolls".[19] Although most Flintstones episodes were stand-alone storylines, Hanna-Barbera created a story arc surrounding the birth of Pebbles. Beginning with the episode "The Surprise", aired midway through the third season (January 25, 1963), in which Wilma reveals her pregnancy to Fred, the arc continued through the time leading up to Pebbles' birth in the episode "Dress Rehearsal" (February 22, 1963), and then continued with several episodes showing Fred and Wilma adjusting to the world of parenthood. Around this time, Winston pulled out their sponsorship and Welch's (grape juice and grape jellies) became the primary sponsor. The integrated commercials for Welch's products feature Pebbles asking for grape juice in her toddler dialect, and Fred explaining to Pebbles Welch's unique process for making the jelly, compared to the competition. Welch's also produced a line of grape jelly packaged in jars which were reusable as drinking glasses, with painted scenes featuring the Flintstones and characters from the show. In Australia, the Nine Network ran a "Name the Flintstones' baby" competition during the 'pregnancy' episodes – few Australian viewers were expected to have a U.S. connection giving them information about past Flintstone episodes.

text: Another arc occurred in the fourth season, in which the Rubbles, depressed over being unable to have children of their own (making The Flintstones the first animated series in history to address the issue of infertility, though subtly), adopt Bamm-Bamm. The 100th episode made (but the 90th to air), "Little Bamm-Bamm Rubble" (October 3, 1963), established how Bamm-Bamm was adopted. Nine episodes were produced before it but aired afterwards, which explains why Bamm-Bamm was not seen again until episode 101, "Daddies Anonymous" (Bamm-Bamm was in a teaser on episode 98, "Kleptomaniac Pebbles"). Another story arc, occurring in the final season, centered on Fred and Barney's dealings with the Great Gazoo (voiced by Harvey Korman).

text: After Pebbles' birth, the tone and writing became more juvenile and ratings from the adult demographic began to decline. The last original episode was broadcast on April 1, 1966.[31]

text: The first three seasons of The Flintstones aired Friday nights at 8:30 on ABC. Season four and part of season five aired Thursdays at 7:30. The rest of the series aired Fridays at 7:30.

text: In the U.S., syndicated reruns of the series were offered to local stations until 1997, when E/I regulations and changing tastes in the industry led to the show's move to cable television. From the time of Ted Turner's purchase of Hanna-Barbera in 1992, TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network aired the program. On April 1, 2000, the program moved to Boomerang, where it aired until March 6, 2017 (in its last years on the channel, it had been relegated to a graveyard slot) and returned to the channel on July 30, 2018. Online, the series was made available on the In2TV service beginning in 2006, then the online version of Kids' WB until that service was discontinued in 2015. As of 2017, full episodes are only available in the U.S. on Boomerang's subscription video on demand service, with select clips made available on an official YouTube account tied to the revamped Kids' WB Web site.

text: Reception[edit]

text: The night after The Flintstones premiered, Variety called it "A pen and ink disaster",[32] and the series was among many that debuted in a "vast wasteland" of a 1960–61 television season considered one of the worst in television history up to that point. As late as the 1980s, highbrow critics derided the show's limited animation and derivative plots.[33] Despite the mixed critical reviews at first, The Flintstones has generally been considered a television classic and was rerun continuously for five decades after its end. In 1961, The Flintstones became the first animated series to be nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, but lost out to The Jack Benny Program. In January 2009, IGN named The Flintstones as the ninth-best in its "Top 100 Animated TV Shows".[34]

text: Nielsen ratings[edit]

text:
Season

Time slot (ET)

Rank

Rating[35]

1960–61

Friday at 8:30-9:00 pm

18

24.3

1961–62

21

22.9 (Tied with The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis)

1962–63

30

20.5

1963–64

Thursday at 7:30–8:00 pm

Not in the Top 30

1964–65

Thursday at 7:30–8:00 pm (Episodes 1–14)Friday at 7:30–8:00 pm (Episodes 15–26)

1965–66

Friday at 7:30–8:00 pm

text: Films and subsequent television series[edit]

text: Following the show's cancellation in 1966, a film based upon the series was created. The Man Called Flintstone was a musical spy caper that parodied James Bond and other secret agents. The movie was released to theaters on August 3, 1966, by Columbia Pictures.[36] It was released on DVD in Canada in March 2005 and in United States in December 2008.

text: The show was revived in the early 1970s with Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm having grown into teenagers, and several different series and made-for-TV movies (broadcast mainly on Saturday mornings, with a few shown in prime time); including a series depicting Fred and Barney as police officers, another depicting the characters as children, and yet others featuring Fred and Barney encountering Marvel Comics superhero The Thing and Al Capp's comic strip character The Shmoo – have appeared over the years. The original show also was adapted into a live-action film in 1994, and a prequel, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, which followed in 2000. Unlike its sister show The Jetsons (the two shows appeared in a made-for-TV crossover movie in 1987), the revival programs were not widely syndicated or rerun alongside the original series.[citation needed]

text: Television series[edit]

text:
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971–72) (one season)
The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972–73) (one season)
The Flintstone Comedy Show (1973–74) (compilation series)
Fred Flintstone and Friends (1977–78) (compilation series)
The New Fred and Barney Show (1979) (one season)
Fred and Barney Meet The Thing (1979) (one season)
Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo (1979–80) (one season)
The Flintstone Comedy Show (1980–82) (two seasons)
The Flintstone Funnies (1982–84) (compilation series)
The Flintstone Kids (1986–88) (two seasons)
What a Cartoon! – featuring Dino: Stay Out! (1995) and Dino: The Great Egg-Scape (1997)
Cave Kids (1996) (one season)
Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! (2019)[37]

text: Theatrical animated feature[edit]

text: The Man Called Flintstone (1966, released by Columbia Pictures)

text: Television specials[edit]

text:
The Flintstones on Ice (1973)
Energy: A National Issue (1977)
A Flintstone Christmas (1977)
The Flintstones: Little Big League (1978)
The Flintstones' New Neighbors (1980)
The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone (1980)
The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling (1980)
The Flintstones: Wind-Up Wilma (1981)
The Flintstones: Jogging Fever (1981)
The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration (1986)
The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special (1988)
Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989)
A Flintstone Family Christmas (1993)

text: Television films[edit]

text:
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987)
I Yabba-Dabba Do! (1993)
Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby (1993)
A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
The Flintstones: On the Rocks (2001)

text: Educational films[edit]

text:
Hanna-Barbera Educational Filmstrips
Bamm-Bamm: Bamm-Bamm Tackles a Term Paper (1978)
Bamm-Bamm: Information Please (1979)
Flintstones: A Weighty Problem (1980)
Flintstones: Fire Alarm (1980)
Flintstones: Fire Escape (1980)
Flintstones: Driving Guide (1980)

text: Live-action films[edit]

text:
The Flintstones (1994)
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)

text: Direct-to-video films[edit]

text: The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown! (2015)

text: Other media[edit]

text: Cancelled Seth MacFarlane reboot[edit]

text: In 2011, it was announced Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane would be reviving The Flintstones for the Fox network, with the first episode airing in 2013.[38] After Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly read the pilot script and "liked it but didn't love it", MacFarlane chose to abandon work on the project rather than restarting it.[39][40]

text: Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs![edit]

text: Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! is an upcoming American animated television series and spinoff based on The Flintstones, the first to feature them since the 1996 series Cave Kids, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It will be produced by Mark Marek and Marly Halpern-Graser.[citation needed]

text: The show focuses on the lives of best friends Pebbles Flintstone and Bamm-Bamm Rubble, who are joined by Dino for many adventures in the world. The show is scheduled to air as a part of the Boomerang IPTV subscription service service in 2019.[41]

text: Theme parks[edit]

text: Two Flintstones-themed amusement parks exist in the United States: Bedrock City in Custer, South Dakota, and another in Valle, Arizona. Both have been in operation for decades. Bedrock City, also known as Flintstone Park, closed in August 2015.[42]

text:
Another existed until the 1990s at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. In Canada, Flintstone Park in Kelowna, British Columbia, opened in 1968 and closed in 1998; it was notable for the "Forty Foot Fred" statue of Fred Flintstone which was a well known Kelowna landmark.[43][44]
Another Flintstones park was located in Bridal Falls, British Columbia, which closed in 1990.[45] Calaway Park outside Calgary, Alberta, Canada, also opened with a Flintstones theme and many of the buildings today have a caveman-like design, though the park does not license the characters. The Australia's Wonderland and Canada's Wonderland theme parks, both featured Flintstones characters in their Hanna-Barbera-themed children's sections from 1985 up until the mid-1990s. Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio, had a Hanna-Barbera land, in which many Hanna-Barbera characters were featured, including the Flintstones, in the 1980s and early 1990s.

text: Live theater[edit]

text: A stage production opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1994 (the year the live-action film was released), developed by Universal and Hanna-Barbera Productions. It opened at the Panasonic Theater, replacing the Star Trek show. The story consists of Fred, Wilma, Barney, and Betty heading for "Hollyrock". The show ran until January 2, 1997.

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: Miles Laboratories (now part of Bayer Corporation) and their One-A-Day vitamin brand was the alternate sponsor of the original Flintstones series during its first two seasons, and in the late 1960s, Miles introduced Flintstones Chewable Vitamins, fruit-flavored multivitamin tablets for children in the shape of the Flintstones characters, which are currently being sold.[46]

text: The Simpsons referenced The Flintstones in several episodes. In the episode "Homer's Night Out", Homer's local convenience store clerk, Apu, remarks "You look familiar, sir. Are you on the television or something?", to which Homer replies "Sorry, buddy, you've got me confused with Fred Flintstone."[47] During the couch gag of the opening credits of the episode "Kamp Krusty", the Simpson family arrive home to find the Flintstone family already sitting on their couch.[48] The same couch gag was reused in syndicated episodes of "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", when The Simpsons overtook The Flintstones as the longest-running animated series.[49] In "Lady Bouvier's Lover", Homer's boss, Mr. Burns, appears at the family's house and says "Why, it's Fred Flintstone (referring to Homer) and his lovely wife, Wilma! (Marge) Oh, and this must be little Pebbles! (Maggie) Mind if I come in? I brought chocolates." Homer responds by saying "Yabba-dabba-doo!"[50] The opening of "Marge vs. the Monorail" depicts Homer leaving work in a similar way to Fred Flintstone in the opening of The Flintstones, during which he sings his own version of the latter's opening theme.

text: On September 30, 2010, Google temporarily replaced the logo on its search page with a custom graphic celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Flintstones' first TV broadcast.[51]


document_title: List of National Basketball Association franchise career scoring leaders

question_text: who is the nets all time leading scorer

question_tokens: who is the nets all time leading scorer

root

text: The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men's basketball league, consisting of 30 teams in North America (29 in the United States and one in Canada). The NBA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[1] It adopted the name National Basketball Association at the start of the 1949–50 season when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL).[1] The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as the National Governing Body (NGB) for basketball in the country.[2] The league is considered to be one of the four major professional sports leagues of North America.[3] There have been 15 defunct franchises in NBA history.

tag: p

text: In basketball, points are the sum of the score accumulated through free throw or field goal.[4] The NBA introduced three-point field goals in the 1979–80 season as a bonus for field goals made from a longer distance.[5][6] Karl Malone scored 36,374 points with the Utah Jazz, the most points by a player for a single franchise.[7] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, is the Milwaukee Bucks leader with 14,211 points.[8][9] He scored more points with the Los Angeles Lakers (24,176), where he ranks third in Lakers' history.[10] Kobe Bryant leads the Lakers, scoring the most points in the NBA while playing for only one team in an entire career.[10][11] Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks is second behind Bryant in scoring while playing for only one team.

text:
^
Active NBA player

*
Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[note 1]

Franchise with scoring leader on its current roster

tag: table

text:
Franchise [note 2]
Player
Points
Ref

Atlanta Hawks[note 3]
Wilkins, DominiqueDominique Wilkins*
23,292

[12]

Boston Celtics
Havlicek, JohnJohn Havlicek*
26,395

[13]

Brooklyn Nets[note 4]
Lopez, BrookBrook Lopez
10,444

[14]

Charlotte Hornets[note 5]
Curry, DellDell Curry
9,839

[15]

Chicago Bulls
Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan*
29,277

[16]

Cleveland Cavaliers
James, LeBronLeBron James^
20,868

[17]

Dallas Mavericks
Nowitzki, DirkDirk Nowitzki^
30,260

[18]

Denver Nuggets
English, AlexAlex English*
21,645

[19]

Detroit Pistons[note 6]
Thomas, IsiahIsiah Thomas*
18,822

[20]

Golden State Warriors[note 7]
Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain*
17,783

[21]

Houston Rockets[note 8]
Olajuwon, HakeemHakeem Olajuwon*
26,511

[22]

Indiana Pacers
Miller, ReggieReggie Miller*
25,279

[23]

Los Angeles Clippers[note 9]
Smith, RandyRandy Smith
12,735

[24]

Los Angeles Lakers[note 10]
Bryant, KobeKobe Bryant†
33,643

[10]

Memphis Grizzlies[note 11]
Conley, MikeMike Conley^
10,050

[25]

Miami Heat
Wade, DwyaneDwyane Wade^
20,221

[26]

Milwaukee Bucks
Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar*
14,211

[8]

Minnesota Timberwolves
Garnett, KevinKevin Garnett†
19,201

[27]

New Orleans Pelicans[note 12]
West, DavidDavid West^
8,690

[28]

New York Knicks
Ewing, PatrickPatrick Ewing*
23,665

[29]

Oklahoma City Thunder[note 13]
Payton, GaryGary Payton*
18,207

[30]

Orlando Magic
Howard, DwightDwight Howard^
11,435

[31]

Philadelphia 76ers[note 14]
Greer, HalHal Greer*
21,586

[32]

Phoenix Suns
Davis, WalterWalter Davis
15,666

[33]

Portland Trail Blazers
Drexler, ClydeClyde Drexler*
18,040

[34]

Sacramento Kings[note 15]
Robertson, OscarOscar Robertson*
22,009

[35]

San Antonio Spurs
Duncan, TimTim Duncan†
26,496

[36]

Toronto Raptors
DeRozan, DeMarDeMar DeRozan^
11,456

[37]

Utah Jazz[note 16]
Malone, KarlKarl Malone*
36,374

[38]

Washington Wizards[note 17]
Hayes, ElvinElvin Hayes*
15,551

[39]

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for four calendar years (reduced from five in 2015).
Jump up ^ This list only includes active NBA franchises.
Jump up ^ Formerly St. Louis Hawks, Milwaukee Hawks, Tri-Cities Blackhawks
Jump up ^ Formerly New York Nets, New Jersey Nets
Jump up ^ Formerly Charlotte Hornets (1988-2002) Charlotte Bobcats (2004-14)
Jump up ^ Formerly Fort Wayne Pistons
Jump up ^ Formerly San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia Warriors
Jump up ^ Formerly San Diego Rockets
Jump up ^ Formerly San Diego Clippers, Buffalo Braves
Jump up ^ Formerly Minneapolis Lakers
Jump up ^ Formerly Vancouver Grizzlies
Jump up ^ Formerly New Orleans Hornets (2002-04, 2007-13), New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2005-07)
Jump up ^ Formerly Seattle SuperSonics
Jump up ^ Formerly Syracuse Nationals
Jump up ^ Formerly Kansas City Kings, Kansas City-Omaha Kings, Cincinnati Royals, Rochester Royals
Jump up ^ Formerly New Orleans Jazz
Jump up ^ Formerly Washington Bullets, Capital Bullets, Baltimore Bullets, Chicago Zephyrs, Chicago Packers

tag: ol


document_title: Tiny Dancer

question_text: what is the meaning of the song tiny dancer

text: Tiny Dancer

text: Background and writing[edit]

text: The song's lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin to capture the spirit of California in 1970 encapsulated by the many beautiful women he met there.  The song was dedicated to Maxine Feibelman—Taupin's first wife—on the album Madman Across the Water.[4][5]

text: History[edit]

text: The song features piano-based accompaniment during verses.  The arrangement start features pedal steel guitar, light percussion, Paul Buckmaster's strings and a very quiet choir.

text: Due to the song lacking a hook, "Tiny Dancer" was initially a non-starter as a single in the US, reaching only #41 on the U.S. pop chart, and was not even released as a single in the UK.  The song fared better in Canada, where John had much of his early commercial breakthrough success, peaking at #19.  It was also a hit in Australia, peaking at #13.  Eventually, the song slowly became one of John's most popular songs even in the territories that initially failed to embrace it, and the full-length version is now a fixture on North American, UK and Australian adult contemporary and rock radio stations.

text: It was ranked No. 387 on the 2010 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[6]

text: Music video[edit]

text: In May 2017, an official music video for "Tiny Dancer" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as a winner of Elton John: The Cut, a competition organized in partnership with AKQA, Pulse Films, and YouTube in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of his songwriting relationship with Bernie Taupin. The competition called upon independent filmmakers to submit treatments for music videos for one of three Elton John songs from the 1970s, with each song falling within a specific concept category. "Tiny Dancer" was designated for the live-action category, with the competition won by Max Welland. The video was filmed in Los Angeles, and features scenes of various residents driving around the city.[7][8]

text: Charts[edit]

text:
Chart (1972)

Peakposition

Australia

13

Canadian RPM Top Singles[9]

19

Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[10]

20

UK

70

U.S. Billboard Hot 100

41

U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[11]

35

U.S. Cash Box Top 100[12]

29

text: Other versions[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: "Tiny Dancer" has been covered by Lani Hall in the 1970s, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers with John Frusciante on vocals since the early 1990s, and by Dave Grohl on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.[13][14]

text: In 2002, Ben Folds covered "Tiny Dancer" for his live album, Ben Folds Live. The song was later released as a promo single.

text: Country music artist Tim McGraw covered the song on his 2002 album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors. McGraw also performed the song, with Elton John, at the American Music Awards.

text: In 2009, DJ Ironik and Chipmunk created a remix of the song, featuring John singing the chorus, which peaked at No.3 in the UK Singles Chart.[15]

text: A version featuring Mary Black, Paddy Casey and Declan O'Rourke was recorded in Galway, Ireland in 2012 as a charity single. This version reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart.[16][17]

text: Florence and the Machine covered the song on the 2018 tribute album Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin.[18]

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: This section indiscriminately collects miscellaneous information. Please compress this material to remove any irrelevant or unimportant information. (September 2017)

text: In 1971, Elton John performed the song on the first series of The Old Grey Whistle Test. The performance has been released as part of The Old Grey Whistle Test - Volumes 1-3 Box Set.[19]

text: It features in the rock film Almost Famous (2000), set in the 1973, here the main characters sing the song while driving on a bus.[3]

text: Joseph Gordon-Levitt performed the song in a lip-syncing competition against Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Merchant on Fallon's Late Night show.[20]

text: A brief parody version of the song was broadcast on Saturday Night Live (Season 39, Episode 17, 5 April 2014), in which Kate McKinnon appeared as Angela Merkel and sang, to the tune of "Tiny Dancer," "Hold me closer, German Chancellor"[21]

text: The UK based department store chain John Lewis, use the song on their August 2015 insurance advert.[22]

text: Donald Trump has used the song during his 2016 presidential rallies as his entrance and exit song.[23]

text: In his 2017 single, "Castle on the Hill", Ed Sheeran references the song.[24]

text: On her 2017 studio album Lust for Life, Lana Del Rey referenced the song on her track "Tomorrow Never Came" featuring Sean Ono Lennon.

text: On his 2018 single Don't leave me alone (ft. Anne-Marie), David Guetta referenced the song[25]


document_title: Early Cholas

question_text: who is considered the greatest of the early chola kings

text: Early Cholas

text: Sources[edit]

text: Ancient Tamil Nadu contained three monarchical states, headed by kings called Vendhar and several chieftaincies, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination Vel or Velir.[1] Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called kizhar or mannar.[2] The Tamil area had an independent existence outside the control of these northern empires. The Tamil kings and chiefs were always in conflict with each other mostly over property. The royal courts were mostly places of social gathering rather than places of dispensation of authority; they were centres for distribution of resources.[3]

text: The names of the three dynasties, Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras, are mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273–232 BCE) inscriptions, among the kingdoms, which though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly terms with him.[4][5] The king of Kalinga, Kharavela, who ruled around 150 BCE, mentioned in the famous Hathigumpha inscription of the confederacy of the Tamil kingdoms that had existed for over 100 years.[6] Karikala Chola was the most famous early Chola. He is mentioned in a number of poems in the Tamil Sangam literature.[7]

text: Another source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period. There are also brief notices on the Chola country and its towns, ports and commerce furnished by the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei). Periplus is a work by an anonymous Alexandrian merchant, written in the time of Domitian (81 – 96 CE) and contains precious information of the Chola country. Writing half a century later, the geographer Ptolemy has more to tell us about the Chola country, its port and its inland cities.

text: Mahavamsa, a Buddhist text, also recounts a number of conflicts between the inhabitants of Ceylon and the Tamil immigrants from Chola Country.

text: Chronicles such as the Yalpana Vaipava Malai and stone inscriptions like Konesar Kalvettu recount that Kulakkottan, an early Chola king and descendant of Manu Needhi Cholan, was the restorer of the ruined Koneswaram temple and tank at Trincomalee in 438 CE, the Munneswaram temple of the west coast, and as the royal who settled ancient Vanniar (not to confuse with present-day Vanniar or Palli caste .[8][9]

text: Early Cholas[edit]

text: The inscriptions of the Medieval Cholas are replete with history about the Early Chola kings. The Cholas were looked upon as descended from the sun. These historic incidents speak of the Chola king Kantaman, supposed contemporary of the sage Agastya, whose devotion brought the river Kavery into existence. There is also the story of the king Manu who sentenced his son to death for having accidentally killed a calf. Mahavamasa portrays King Elara who was defeated by Duttha Gamini (c. 3rd century BCE) as the just king who '..had a bell with a rope attached at the head of his bed, so that all who sought redress might ring it..'. King Sibi who rescued a dove from a hawk by giving his own flesh to the hungry hawk was also part of the early Chola history.

text: These historic incidents received enormous emphasis in the later Chola period in the long mythical genealogies incorporated into the copper-plate charters of the 10th and 11th centuries. The earliest version of this is found in the Anbil Plates which gives fifteen names before Vijayalaya Cholan including the  historical ones of Karikala, Perunarkilli and Kocengannan. The Thiruvalangadu Plate swells this list to forty-four, and the Kanyakumari Plate runs up to fifty-two. There are other lists gathered from literary works such as Kalingathuparani. No two of these lists agree, although some names and details are common to all.

text: Cholas in Sangam literature[edit]

text: The earliest Chola kings of whom we have tangible evidence are those mentioned in the Sangam literature, written in the period 200 BCE–300 CE.[10][11] Unfortunately, it has not been possible to piece together an internal chronology of the Sangam works. Due to this, we know of several rulers, but not their chronology. All three kings have been portrayed as fighting the war or involved in feeding both the armies at that legendary war.

text: Karikala Chola[edit]

text: Karikala Chola (c. 90 BCE) stands pre-eminent amongst all those mentioned in Pattinappaalai. Karikala's father was Ilamcetcenni, a brave king and a hard fighter. 'Karikala' means 'elephant feller' or 'charred leg', which is assumed to be a reference to an accident by fire which befell the prince early in his life. Pattinappaalai describes this accident and the enterprising way in which the prince escaped and established himself in the Chola throne. Pattinappalai is a long poem on the then Chola capital Kaveripattinam. This work also describes the numerous battles Karikala fought against the other two Tamil kings in one of which the Chera king was disgraced (received a wound on his back) and committed suicide. Karikala thus broke the confederacy that was formed against him and established hegemony over Pandyas and Cheras.

text: In later times Karikala was the subject of many legends found in the Cilappatikaram and in inscriptions and literary works of the 11th and 12th centuries. They attribute to him the conquest of the whole of India up to the Himalayas and the construction of the flood banks, Grand Anicut, of the Kaveri River with the aid of his feudatories. These legends however are conspicuous by their absence in the works of Sangam.

text: Nalankilli and Nedunkilli[edit]

text: The poet Kovur Kilar mentions a protracted civil war between two Chola chieftains Nalankilli and Nedunkilli. Nedunkilli shut himself in a fort in Avur, which was being besieged by Mavalattan, Nalankilli's younger brother. The poet chided Nedunkilli to come out and fight like a man instead of causing untold misery to the people of the city.

text: In another poem, the poet begs both the princes to give up the civil war as whoever wins, the loser will be a Chola.

text: Kocengannan[edit]

text: Kalavali by Poygayar mentions the Chola King Kocengannan and his battle with the Chera king Kanaikkal Irumporai. The Chera was taken prisoner and Poygayar, who was a friend of the Chera, sang a poem praising the Chola King Kochchenganan in 40 stanzas. The Chola king, pleased with the work, released the Chera. Kalavali describes the battle fought at Kalumalam, near the Chera capital. Kocengannan is one of the 63 nayanars.

text: Kocengannan became the subject of many instances in later times and is portrayed as a pious Siva devotee who built many fine temples for Siva along the banks of the river Kaveri.

text: Social conditions[edit]

text: Sangam literature gives an unusually complete and true picture of the social and economic conditions during the early chola period. The culture is best described as an amalgam of the Dravidian and Aryan. The stories of Mahabharata and Ramayana were well known to the Tamil people, shown by the claims of some kings to have fed both the opposing army in the Mahabharata War. The claim that Shibi, who gave his own flesh to save a dove, as a Chola is obviously influenced by northern legends.

text: The land of the Cholas was fertile and there was ample food. Sangam poems say that in the Chola country watered by the river Kaveri, in a space in which an elephant could lie, one can produce enough grain to feed seven.

text: Hereditary monarchy was the prevailing form of government. Disputed succession and civil war was not uncommon. The sphere of the state activity was limited. In a society steeped in respect for custom, even the most perverse dictator could not have done much harm.

text: The Chola monarchs were approachable by subjects and justice was meted out directly by the king in most occasions. This is in marked contrast to the magnificent empires of the later Cholas where the Emperor was kept much away from contact with the lay people. The kings often took the field in person in battles and if the kings was killed or wounded in battle, his army immediately gave up the fight and surrendered.

text: The trade that flourished between the Chola country and the ancient Roman Empire is given in much detail by Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. 75 CE).


document_title: Thomas Fire

question_text: what is the current state of the thomas fire

text: Thomas Fire

text: Fire progression[edit]

text: On December 4, 2017, the Thomas Fire was reported at 6:26 p.m. PST,[36] to the north of Santa Paula, near Steckel Park and Thomas Aquinas College,[3][24] after which the fire is named.[37] That night, the small brush fire exploded in size and raced through the rugged mountain terrain that lies west of Santa Paula, between Ventura and Ojai.[19][38] Officials blamed strong Santa Ana winds that gusted up to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) for the sudden expansion.[28][39] Soon after the fire had started, a second blaze was ignited nearly 30 minutes later, about 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north in Upper Ojai at the top of Koenigstein Road.[40] According to eyewitnesses, this second fire was sparked by an explosion in the power line over the area. The second fire was rapidly expanded by the strong Santa Ana winds, and soon merged into the Thomas Fire later that night.[40]

text: Late on the night of December 4, the Thomas Fire reached the hillside neighborhoods of Clearpoint,[41] Ondulando,[42] and Skyline[43] in the city of Ventura and destroyed many single-family detached homes. Many people fled with little or no warning when evacuation orders were issued, as the fire had traveled 12 miles (19 km) in just a few hours.[44] Tuesday morning, on December 5, saw 1,000 firefighters battling the blaze, with no containment of the fire. At 7 a.m. PST, one helicopter began dropping water, while fixed-wing aircraft waited to be deployed after the winds died down.[9] The firefighters tried to save Ventura homes in the midst of a red-flag wind advisory with ridgeline winds of 35 to 45 miles per hour (56 to 72 km/h) and gusts up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).[9] The fire continued jumping across the valleys along the steep slopes of the foothills that abut the northern portion of the city. As the fire traveled along the interface between the foothill rangeland and the area developed with homes, it reached the hills above downtown where several apartment buildings and other homes above downtown Ventura were damaged or completely destroyed.[9] The fire burned over Grant Park above City Hall, and burned along the ridge above the western portion of the city, which stretches north along the narrow Ventura River valley, and is characterized by steeply-sloped sides.

text: The fire continued moving north up the valley throughout the day. The entire community of Casitas Springs, which lies northwest of Ventura, had a mandatory evacuation issued as the fire approached.[19] The fire reached Black Mountain[45] overlooking Ojai. The entire Ojai Valley was given mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders. The Ojai pumping system was damaged by the fire and the entire water system stopped working for a time so water was not available from the hydrants for use by the firefighters.[46] The western flank of the fire jumped over Highway 33 and burned through the Taylor Ranch oil fields[47] on the other side of the valley. The fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire continued past the area that had burned in the 2015 Christmas Day Solimar Fire, before crossing the 101 Freeway to the Solimar Beach area, on Pacific Coast Highway, along the Pacific Ocean. The fire continued its northwesterly march along the Rincon Coast to Rincon Point, at the Santa Barbara County/Ventura County line.[19]

text: On Tuesday, December 5, additional National Guard helicopters were brought in to fight the six largest wildfires burning in Southern California. Officials said they also obtained "every last plane we could find in the nation." C-130 airplanes were obtained from the U.S. military, and more than 290 fire engines came from Montana, Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, Arizona, Oregon, and Nevada.[48]

text: On December 7, the Thomas Fire grew further to 115,000 acres (46,539 ha), with containment of the fire at 5%.[3][31] On December 8, the Thomas Fire grew to 143,000 acres (58,000 ha) with containment of the wildfire increasing to 10%, after the Santa Ana winds died down.[49][50]

text: On December 9, as the Santa Ana winds returned, the Thomas Fire expanded to 155,000 acres (63,000 ha), while containment of the fire increased to 15%. By the afternoon of the same day, the fire entered Santa Barbara County near Divide Peak.[51][52][53][54]

text: Early on December 10, the Thomas fire expanded to 173,000 acres (70,000 ha), but containment of the blaze stayed the same as the previous date, at 15% total containment. The evacuation orders were expanded further north into Santa Barbara County into the communities of Carpinteria and Montecito.[55][56] Only the southern and southeastern flanks of the wildfire had been contained.[55] However, by the evening of the same day, the powerful Santa Ana winds had caused the Thomas Fire to undergo another period of explosive growth, expanding to 230,000 acres (93,000 ha) in size, with containment dropping to 10% overall, indicating no new progress in fire containment.[57][58] Another firefighter was injured, when he fractured his leg, and he returned home to recover.[10]

text: On the same day, fire analysts stated that the Thomas Fire had been generating its own weather for the past two days, a behavior only observed in very massive wildfires and indicative of a firestorm.[30] The Thomas Fire was generating massive pyrocumulus clouds, which were gathering heat from the flames below, although the unstable column of air could collapse at any time, which would generate sudden wind shifts near the fire and pose a major hazard to firefighters. This behavior had been previously observed during the massive 2009 Station Fire in Los Angeles.[30] At this point, the Thomas Fire had become the fifth-largest wildfire in modern California history[20] and the largest wildfire recorded in California in December.[59] The Thomas Fire was also estimated to be at least the 10th most destructive wildfire on record in California.[17]

text: On the morning of December 11, the Thomas Fire had grown to 230,500 acres (93,300 ha), while containment of the fire had increased to 15%.[36] After this expansion in size, the Thomas Fire's northwestern flank almost linked up with its southwestern flank, to the east of Carpinteria, cutting across parts of Route 150, and threatening to envelop Ojai and Lake Casitas.[60][25][61] By this time, the Thomas Fire had grossly surpassed the size of the previous largest fire in December, which was extremely unusual.[59] Fire officials noted that many areas had been "Moonscaped", an event in which the brush has been so completely burned that it was left looking like a barren and blackened landscape, resembling the surface of the Moon, which is indicative of extreme fire behavior.[10] During the evening of December 11, the Thomas Fire expanded further to 231,700 acres (93,800 ha), while firefighters increased containment of the fire to 20%.[62]

text: On December 13, the Thomas Fire's expansion slowed on its west flank, as it reached the burn area of the 240,000-acre Zaca Fire (97,000 ha) from 2007. However, the Thomas Fire's northwestern and southwestern flanks merged on the western shore of Lake Casitas, completely encircling the Lake Casitas and Ojai area.[26] Firefighters have expected the fire's growth to be disrupted if it reaches the burn scars of other previous fires to the west within the last 10 years: the Tea, Jesusita, Gap, and Rey Fires.[11]

text: On December 14, the Thomas Fire expanded further to 242,500 acres (98,100 ha), surpassing the Zaca Fire to become the fourth-largest wildfire in modern California history. Later on the same day, the Thomas Fire expanded further to 249,500 acres (101,000 ha). On the same day, a firefighter died, while working northwest of Fillmore, on a flareup near the eastern flank of the fire.[7]

text: On the morning of December 15, containment lines in the Santa Barbara and Montecito areas and protecting nearby homes was the priority, in addition to the threatened Carpinteria and Summerland areas. Officials feared the sundowner winds could push the fire into those communities as they blow south from the mountains down to the coast, and because they also dry out the air.[63][27] Although they prevented the fire from reaching the community, it still grew to 259,000 acres (105,000 ha) with 40% containment on the morning of December 16, surpassing the Rim Fire in size, and becoming the third-largest wildfire in the modern history of California.[27] Around this time, officials and experts feared that the Thomas Fire could surpass the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889, which had burned over 300,000 acres (120,000 ha), and is believed to be California's all-time largest wildfire on record.[64]

text: On December 17, the Thomas Fire expanded to 270,000 acres (110,000 ha), with 45% containment, reaching the burn scar of the 2008 Tea Fire and the 2009 Jesusita Fire.[65][66] However, the weakening of Santa Ana winds in the evening allowed firefighters to make progress on containing the fire, with firefighters able to keep the Thomas Fire from burning southward into the majority of nearby homes, and they also attacked the western front of the fire.[65]

text: On December 18, firefighters began a large firing operation north of the Thomas Fire, south of Route 33, in order to clear away excess brush, and to attempt to control the Thomas Fire's northward expansion.[67][68] Firefighters hoped that the winds would push the control fires southward, away from the highway and towards the main body of the Thomas Fire. Fire officials stated that the control burns could scorch up to 20,000 acres (8,100 ha), before they connect with the main portion of the Thomas Fire.[68]

text: On December 19, the Thomas Fire grew to 272,000 acres (110,000 ha), with 55% containment, surpassing the burn area of the Rush Fire in California to become the second-largest wildfire in modern California history.[69] On December 21, all evacuation orders for Santa Barbara County were lifted, as firefighters continued to make progress on containing the wildfire.[68] By this point, the Thomas Fire had become the 7th most destructive wildfire in California history.[16]

text: During the evening of December 22, the Thomas Fire expanded to 273,400 acres (110,600 ha), with containment remaining at 65% for the second day, surpassing the Cedar Fire of 2003 to become California's largest wildfire in modern history.[14] By this point, however, fire officials stated that any further growths in the fire's size would likely be due to control burns from firing operations, due to more favorable weather conditions for firefighting.[14] Due to the cooler temperatures and increase in humidity, the control fires were not spreading as intended, so firefighters used flamethrowers to spread the control flames manually.[29]

text: On December 23, fire growth paused, and containment of the wildfire was brought up to 70%.[70] By the evening of the same day, firefighters had completed firing operations near the northwestern flank of the Thomas Fire, with no more planned for the time being.[71][72] However, on December 24, the Thomas Fire grew to 281,620 acres (113,970 ha), after the fires from the back-burning operations completely merged into the Thomas Fire,[73][74] though containment of the wildfire also increased to 86%.[75] The Thomas Fire had ignited about 30 oil seep fires within the fire perimeter, at the Upper Ojai area. Fire officials had ordered a foam product to help extinguish the oil seep fires, though officials warned that the products may cause more smoke upon application.[73] Favorable weather conditions continued, with a few snow flurries precipitating over the Thomas Fire on the same day.[72]

text: On December 26, the Thomas Fire remained at 281,620 acres (113,970 ha); no further growth in the fire's size was anticipated at this point.[76][77] The number of firefighters deployed decreased to about 900, and containment of the Thomas Fire increased to 88%.[76] That same day, CAL FIRE released a chart with the top 20 largest wildfires in California history, adding the Thomas Fire as the new largest fire.[78]

text: On December 27, the Thomas Fire experienced another small expansion in size on its northeastern flank, to 281,893 acres (114,078 ha), while containment of the wildfire increased to 91%.[79] Early on December 29, the Thomas Fire was 92% contained, with no further increases in size.[80] On the same day, a smoldering area within the western edge of the Thomas Fire's perimeter, near Gibraltar Road, flared up, sending smoke over Santa Barbara. However, firefighters were able to extinguish the new flames by 1 p.m. PST on the same day.[81]

text: On December 30, incident command was transferred to a local team headed by the Los Padres National Forest staff, and the Thomas Fire remained at 92% containment.[82][83] At that time, fire officials decided to let the remaining flames within the Thomas Fire's perimeter burn out; afterward, full containment of the wildfire was not expected until January 21, 2018.[82][6]

text: On January 12, 2018, the U.S. Forest Service declared the fire 100 percent contained at 281,893 acres.[84][85]

text: Impacts[edit]

text: Fire effects[edit]

text: At least 1,063 structures have been destroyed in the fire.[86] Numerous single-family homes were destroyed along with the Hawaiian Village Apartments in the hills above downtown Ventura and 12 houses for guest workers of Limoneira Co. near Santa Paula. The downtown Harbor View Apartments and the Vista del Mar hospital (a psychiatric facility) on the west side of Ventura were among the complexes that were heavily damaged.[9][87] The Ojai Valley School, near the city of Ojai, was heavily damaged with two buildings being destroyed.[88] The Thomas Fire destroyed multiple expensive homes in the Montecito area. On December 23, the Thomas Fire was estimated to have caused over $120 million in property losses, in Santa Barbara County.[2]

text: One firefighter died of thermal injuries and smoke inhalation on December 14, in an active area of the fire near Fillmore,[89] and one firefighter was injured after being struck by a car on December 5. His injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.[9][90] One person, a 70-year-old woman, died in a car accident while fleeing the fire on Wednesday night, December 6.[8][91]

text: Over a quarter million Southern California Edison customers lost power as a result of damage from the fire.[92][93] The transmission system which runs from Ventura County to Goleta had to be shut down to prevent further problems until Edison employees could safely access the area for inspections.[94][19]

text: Air quality warnings were issued for many areas due to the fire, because of dangerous levels of smoke and particulates. During the alerts, authorities have recommended that people stay indoors, avoid driving in affected areas and drink plenty of fluids.[95] The east winds that have powered the fire have pushed much of the smoke out to sea or into areas somewhat distant from the fire. When the winds ease, the smoke has hung in the air in many communities. The typical moist, cool daily onshore winds in the evening have also been bringing smoke inland.

text: Dozens of school districts implemented closures during the fire.[19][96] On December 10, University of California, Santa Barbara cancelled classes, due to power outages and air quality concerns. The university also delayed its scheduled finals by a month.[97] The expansion of the Thomas Fire also prompted more evacuation orders near Santa Barbara, with mandatory evacuation zones extending into Carpinteria and into the eastern outskirts of Santa Barbara.[55][56]

text: Amtrak passenger rail service between Oxnard and San Luis Obispo on the Pacific Surfliner was suspended indefinitely when the fire reached the route along the Rincon north of Ventura.[95] Highways 150, 101, and 33 were partially shut down at various times due to the fire.[98] Officials began closing State Highway 154 for several hours each morning in order to mobilize fire equipment on December 13.[99]

text: On Tuesday, December 5, the city of Ventura issued a precautionary boil-water advisory, because of the loss of pressure in the water system from power outages related to the fire. A similar warning was issued by the Casitas Municipal Water District which serves portions of the Ojai Valley and communities along the Rincon Coast from Ventura to the Santa Barbara County line.[19] The city of Ventura also issued a curfew as a result of the fire on Tuesday, which would be effective from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on the next morning, until further notice.[100] The boil alert was lifted on December 12.[101]

text: An amateur radio site on Reeves Road in Ojai was heavily damaged by the fire. The site is part of a repeater network run by amateur radio operators. These volunteers plan to replace lost equipment and enhance the shared station with additional cameras, solar panels, batteries, a weather station, and other hardware.[102]

text: Post-fire effects[edit]

text: Debris flows in Montecito[edit]

text: On January 9, 2018, 3:30 AM, PST, 0.54 inch (13.7 mm) of rain in 5 minutes was reported at Montecito [103]. Heavy rain on burned hill slopes above the city resulted in rapid erosion, mud flow and debris flow (mass wasting) of soil and stream channels, causing catastrophic damage in Montecito Creek and San Ysidro Creek.

text: As of January 21, 2018, 21 fatalities, 2 missing persons, 129 destroyed residences and 307 damaged residences, attributed to debris flows, were reported by the inter-agency, storm-response team [104] in Santa Barbara County [105].

text: Writer T.C. Boyle, whose Montecito home was within the proximity of both the fire and mudslides, documented the collective trauma in The New Yorker magazine.[106].

text: Debris flows are generated in the following general sequence of events: Fire reduces the organic soil layer to ash and char. Water-repellent, organic hydrocarbons condense in shallow, mineral soil, enhancing runoff. Locally heavy rain, exceeding the infiltration rate of the soil, generates surface runoff. Eroded unconsolidated sediment and ash is suspended and dissolved, increasing the density of the flow. Pore water pressure developed in unconsolidated soil and sediment causes liquefaction. Erosion increases as gravity drives mud flow through the drainage basin in confined channels. Mud flows mobilize woody debris and larger sedimentary particles as debris flow, which continues to accumulate as smaller channels combine with larger channels. As the size of the debris flow increases, larger particles are entrained, channel erosion occurs, landslides and vegetation are incorporated. Multiple debris flows may be generated in the eroding, mountainous portion of the drainage basin. Debris flows typically surge, as precipitation rate and sediment supply vary, hydraulic jumps occur, landslide dams in the channel form and collapse. Upon exiting the steeper mountain canyon, as the stream gradient is reduced, the debris flow spreads laterally and begins to deposit larger particles on the alluvial fan. Where the stream channel is plugged with debris, lateral channel migration occurs, building upon the existing alluvial fan deposits. Deposition also occurs down-stream of the alluvial fan, where stream gradient decreases, on the floodplain, alluvial plain, coastal plain and river delta. As precipitation, subsurface flow, runoff, stream flow and supply of sediment and debris decreases, the stream reverts to low-flow characteristics. It takes years for disturbed channels to achieve relative stability as bed load sediment adjusts and vegetation is reestablished.

text: Vegetation[edit]

text: Native chaparral burned extensively to charred stems and ash. Chaparral is a fire-adapted biome that burns frequently, catastrophically in Santa Ana wind. Coastal chaparral plant species readily re-sprout or regenerate from serotinous seed in the Mediterranean climate of coastal, southern California.

text: Fire history[edit]

text: The Inter-agency Thomas Fire Command mapped at least 50 chaparral fires of various sizes that burned in the Thomas Fire area since 1950 [107][108]. The 1985 Wheeler Fire burned the central portion of the Thomas Fire.

text: Investigation[edit]

text: Soon after the Thomas Fire started, officials began to investigate the cause of the wildfire. The Thomas Fire originated as two separate fires, with the first fire igniting on December 4 at 6:26 p.m. PST, in Santa Paula Canyon, near Thomas Aquinas College, while the second fire started about 30 minutes later, nearly 4 miles north in Upper Ojai, at the top of Koenigstein Road. The newer fire quickly merged into the Thomas Fire later that night.[40] The causes of both blazes are currently being investigated. The cause of the original fire is currently unknown; locals reported seeing a steel power pylon explode near 7 p.m. on December 4, at the origin point of the second fire. However, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which owns the power lines in the area, has denied that there had been any breaks in the power line.[40][109]

text: Statements by government officials[edit]

text: In a radio interview, Neal Andrews explained how he was elected by the city council to serve as the new mayor, at the regular Monday night city council meeting in Ventura City Hall, about three hours after the fire broke out some 15 miles (24 km) away.

text: "I got sworn in. As I walked out of City Hall, all the lights of the city went out. And that was the first indication that we had a real crisis happening."

text: On Tuesday, December 5, 2017, at 10:45 p.m. PST, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Ventura County, due to the Thomas Fire.[111] On his visit to Ventura on Saturday to survey the damage, Brown called the fires a "terrible tragedy for so many people."

text: "This is the new normal. We're about ready to have firefighting at Christmas. This is very odd and unusual."

text: Resources[edit]

text: Helicopter base of operations[edit]

text: The Santa Paula Airport became a helibase for CAL FIRE by the morning after the fire started. The airport was outfitted as a base of operations for the water-dropping helicopters, and closed to all of the regular general aviation operations. About 23 helicopters began operating out of the airport, along with the necessary support crews, tanker trucks, and other equipment. In addition to water, brightly colored fire retardant was dropped on the fire from the air.[112] During the first couple of weeks, there had been limited ability to use fixed-wing air tankers and VLAT (very large air tankers) to drop fire retardant, due to the smoky skies.[11] After having been in the air all day, the helicopters undergo maintenance at night. Other activities included a daily briefing each morning, lunches, and distributing maps.[112]

text: Many aircraft and their operations moved to other airports, such as Camarillo, which remained open to normal activities, while being involved in firefighting efforts. Amid all this, the Santa Paula airport was able to make one of its hangars available for cats after one of the local animal shelters was filled to capacity, and for one local family with its dogs for three nights, on its premises as well.[112]

text: Out-of-state mutual aid[edit]

text: A total of ten strike teams from across the state of Oregon deployed to help California firefighters battle multiple massive blazes north of Los Angeles, including the Thomas Fire. On December 6th, 2017, The Oregon Fire Marshal announced the dispatching of heavy equipment (around 75 fire engines) to help.[113][114]

text: Strike teams from Oregon arrived from Clackamas, Klamath, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill Counties; in addition, a combined team from Benton, Linn, and Polk Counties, and a team from the Rogue Valley area were also assisting. State fire officials announced that five additional strike teams would be deployed on the evening of Wednesday, December 6.[113][115]

text: Firefighters from Arizona,[116] Washington,[117] Idaho,[118] Montana,[119] New Mexico,[120] Nevada,[121] Colorado,[122] and Utah[123] were also assisting in the fire suppression efforts.[124]

text: Fire growth and containment progress[edit]

text:
Fire containment status (InciWeb[125] list,[126] CAL FIRE[127] list[128])
Gray: contained, Red: active

Date
Acres burned
Containment

Dec 5
50,000[129]

0%

Dec 6
90,000[130]

5%

Dec 7
115,000[131]

5%

Dec 8
143,000[49]

10%

Dec 9
155,000[53]

15%

Dec 10
230,000[58]

10%

Dec 11
231,700[62]

20%

Dec 12
236,000[132]

25%

Dec 13
238,500[133]

30%

Dec 14
249,500[134]

35%

Dec 15
256,000[135]

35%

Dec 16
267,500[136]

40%

Dec 17
270,000[137]

45%

Dec 18
271,000[138]

50%

Dec 19
272,000[139]

55%

Dec 20
272,000[140]

60%

Dec 21
272,600[141]

65%

Dec 22
273,400[1]

65%

Dec 23
273,400[142]

70%

Dec 24
281,620[75]

86%

Dec 26
281,620[143]

88%

Dec 27–28
281,893[79]

91%

Dec 29–
Jan 11
281,893
[80][144][145][146][147]

92%

Jan 12
281,893

100%