(Title changed after learning the news while writing this diary.)
The Jesusita Fire enters night three. I'm exhausted and I'm just sitting at home looking for information. Imagine the exhaustion of the firefighters who have been working this entire time with less sleep than I.
This fire is still extremely dangerous. In various places, the fire is approaching the peak between the Santa Barbara front country and the wilderness, including the vast area of the Zaca Fire. At the peak, the fire will be subject to strong winds from whichever direction they are coming at the moment. From the peak and behind the peak, both from the east (Montecito) and west (Route 154) limits, the fire can spread both up and down the California coast, only to come back down the mountains toward the Pacific wherever the winds so choose.
As an official stated, the fire has many possibilities in the east. Down the coast are Summerland, Carpenteria, and farther down Ventura and Oxnard. Farther inland is Ojai. To the west is more of Goleta before open country with scattered ranches. Of course, Santa Barbara and Montecito downtown areas are not at all out of danger.
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Saturday morning update
The fire was more well-behaved through the night. It is still large, 5 to 7 miles, but calm winds, cool temperatures, and a humid marine layer are cause of cautious optimism. Moist breezes continue to press the fire up the mountain.
BUT, 10% containment might as well be 0%. Until greater containment, there is no time for the firefighting effort to relax. More resources have also been brought to bear, including large DC-10's for spreading fire retardant. There is cautious good news for now.
I loved this quote from Nick Welsh at the Independent:
While Friday’s press conference was more a rah-rah fest in which pubic safety officials praised one another and the general public for their cooperative spirit, some nuggets did emerge. As of Friday, more than 30,000 people had been ordered to evacuate their homes, a figure roughly one-third the City of Santa Barbara’s total population.
Here's a more sobering paragraph from Matt Kettmann:
The cause of the fire, which started along the popular Jesusita hiking trail in San Roque Canyon, remains under investigation. Law enforcement agents have been heard in the field discussing a strong possibility of arson, but there is no official word on that yet. Anyone with information is urged to contact the tip line at 805-686-5074. Everyone in town will thank you.
Keep in mind, this is a vague report. It's too early for any definitive statements. I just wanted to inform that this is being talked about.
End update
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I'm just going to write what I have gathered about the fire, without links. People seem to know where to go, and it looks as though there are just a few of us with interest in this fire.
First of all, praise and thanks to the firefighters, including the California State prisoners who have worked alongside everyone else, often in the most dangerous and backbreaking tasks, to minimize the inevitable damage this uncontrollable fire wreaks.
The fire began in a beautiful and popular hiking area, near Cathedral Peak. The first canyon threatened is a deadend box canyon with challenging exits. The highly proactive Mission Canyon Association has been preparing insistently for this day, clearing dead wood, practicing escapes, pressuring the city to remove eucalyptus trees on the exit route and everything else they could think of. There is no way to accurately calculate the number of homes, and perhaps even lives, which were saved by their singular focus on preparation.
That first night, wild sundowners sprang up suddenly, bringing 65 to 75 mph winds. For a few hours, the fire was unstoppable. The crews could only withdraw and the wind was too dangerous for fighting from the air. If the wind had decided to, it could have marched the fire right down the three or four miles to the Pacific Ocean, destroying Santa Barbara city center along the way. But the firefighters fiercely defended against spot fires away from the center of the rage. It is likely the dousing of a couple of fires saved the Santa Barbara Mission.
During this first night, dozens of homes burned. The total estimation is at seventy-five so far in the fire, including the homes destroyed as the fire spread west. A fire official said it could have easily been hundreds of homes. He credited the residents for creating defensible space enough to give them a good chance at fighting this fire. Again, kudos to the Mission Canyon Association and all individuals who, like the forward-looking ant, prepared for the inevitable challenge of this wildfire.
When the winds calmed by the second morning, crews got back to work. Twenty-four hour shifts were announced. Everyone spent the day steeling for the next high winds, knowing that if they came, the fire would take control of its own fate once again. We tried to optimize our starting point.
As a blessing to be remembered and celebrated, the sundowner winds did not materialize the second afternoon, but later in the evening winds did kick back up. All reports seemed to be that the wind was swirling. This night the fire crews and aircraft stayed on the job all evening. The fire broke into two fronts, one moving across the top of the Tea Fire burn area and the other moving toward Goleta.
So far, the most heroic and decisive moment in the fire came soon after midnight last night as the fire came roaring down San Roque Canyon, looking to break through into a charming neighborhood with smaller houses, more densely packed, which stand on the very edge of downtown and offer several directions for fire spreading. The firefighters dug in, and the line was drawn at Foothill Road. A few structures over the line burned, but aggressive fighting kept spot fires and even full housefires from spreading into a fire front. This was a history-making stand by our firefighters.
The fire continued to spread west into Goleta with the evacuation area continuing to be moved farther west throughout the evening--from San Roque to Ontare to La Cumbre to Route 154 to Patterson and finally with an evacuation warning out to Fairfax. Meanwhile in the east, the highest foothill roads in Montecito have been evacuated as well.
The San Roque/Foothill stand stopped the southern movement, but the fire eventually exploded west and up the mountains. A photo I posted last night made my blood run cold--a continuous wall of flame along the high mountains above Santa Barbara. My fears were underlined at the morning press conference today in which
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[Time out, please, for a couple of tears. I just read that my home did not burn down.
No houses were lost Las Canoas Lane.
I had been optimistic from what I could piece together, but now it's official from this SB Independent article. The article gives specific addresses and covers the early part of the fire. Read it to get a flavor for the fierce defense residents and professional firefighters put into saving home after home. But many homes have been lost. A lot of people are going to be needing help getting their lives back together. I especially think of the families with children who have lost their homes. And the elderly.
I'm crying in relief, with a touch of survivors guilt. But I think of it as a tribute to the hard work of everyone, not just a personal victory. Thanks to everyone who has been thinking of me specifically and all those in harms way. Thanks for your thoughts and verbal support. THIS FIRE IS NOT OVER.]
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Now, where was I? Oh yes, the press conference from this morning. I had gone to fetch this quote, illustrating that my fear of a long front being blown down on to Montecito, Santa Barbara, and Goleta was on the mind of the firefighters, too.
Fire officials presented a sobering assessment of Jesusita Fire activity from Thursday night, telling reporters today at Earl Warren Showgrounds that the fire has expanded to a 5-mile front, with active fronts near Montecito and Goleta.
Today has presented favorable weather, with lower temperatures and more humid air, but the firefighters have learned that the future is unpredictable. There are ongoing challenges in the west, and the fire is moving toward the ridgetop road, Camino Cielo from several places east to west.
This fire is not contained. It is a real threat to several communities and thousands of wilderness acres on the south California coast.
In terms of links, the Santa Barbara County link seems to be the most reliable and timely for official information such as evacuations and statistics.
Thanks to tegrat for providing the link to this google map. Under map controls, choose fire and weather stations.
The LA Times, SB News Press, SB Independent, and Ventura Star have been posting incredible photos. Great photos are also available on google maps.
Other than that, all you need to track down links is this centralized site: jesusitafire.org. Some of the twitters are the best source of recent information, although needs confirmation, of course.
Update: The response of the community is holding me here longer than I intended. Thanks for all the well-wishes. In appreciation, I'll add some photos I've been posting at in various diaries and comments throughout the day:
I urge you to click this link to see a photo of the moon over Santa Barbara last night. This photo has become my image for this fire and the condition of our mother earth in general. This is a must see photo.
I would guess that most of these firefighters have been on the job since this rest sometime yesterday.
This is only something of what they faced last night.
Imagine protecting homes in these conditions:
Brushfires are HOT:
Just one of the hundreds of dangerous tasks for exhausted firefighters:
We love them and respect them. There will be hundreds of large, handwritten signs appreciation all over Santa Barbara for months after this fire.
And finally, the photo I've kept on my computer thoughout this time. Please click on the link to see this in full-size. Imagine the heat from the fire and the weather in the hot, heavy suit, and the weight and kickback force of that fire hose. Imagine doing this for hours and hours. I'll introduce this with an excerpt from AvoMonster comment from last night:
You should feel the heat of a brush fire. It's big big heat. Not like a campfire, bonfire or anything like that. It's all around heat. The protective clothing helps but all it does is let you get closer to the flames and heat. And, the smoke. In your eyes, throat, lungs, all over. All the while lugging 1-1/2" hoses that refuse to cooperate, pushing against you with the force of the stream, refusing to move when you need to. Like dragging a wet rolled-up carpet around, they weigh a ton.
We burned a lot of brush here years ago to make our defensible space. I have the scars to prove it, and that was just a controlled and small scale effort. Just a few acres with only 40' flame columns, no wind, no 100 degree heat. These firefighters are dealing with a monstrous situation. I'm nervous for them, it's extremely dangerous what is happening right now.
Please go give this firefighter a moment of appreciation in full size.