Fire in Santa Barbara

Hi All!

As you may or may not know, there is a fire burning in Santa Barbara - again. We are currently in an Evacuation Warning area but not in a Mandatory Evacuation area. Basically, we need to be prepared to leave if necessary and need to be paying attention in case things were to change, which they can do quickly.

I have attached some photos I took yesterday afternoon. Basically, we had an incredibly hot but beautiful day yesterday and no visible smoke, giving the impression that maybe the fire was under control. Then in the afternoon the winds picked up. The photos were taken and show what happened once the wind picked up.

Although it does look close (you can see the roof of our house in one), it is probably not as close as you think. Again, those photos are smoke and not fire and you are looking up at a hill and the wind is blowing. The fires are actually in canyons up closer to the side of the mountain. The problem is that it is really hot during the day (like 99 in these areas not counting the fire temps - it is currently 6am and it is already 74F) w/ no humidity. Then the wind picks up in the afternoon (around 3pm-ish and wind gusts are expected to get to 50-60mph which is less than yesterday) and the embers get blown about and the fire picks up.

Smoke starts to pick up

Smoke expands

Smoke haze over the sun