Four Miles

A thick blanket of smoke covered our dear city of Santa Barbara as we drove down from the mountains to the hospital for my PET scan this morning.  But by early afternoon, the smoke had cleared a bit, and the air seemed a bit easier to breathe.  We made our way home this evening, taking a few pictures of the flames and smoke in the hills, saddened for our neighbors, some of whom have lost their homes, some of whom are evacuated and holding their breath, some of whom are experiencing a double-whammy after the Montecito fires last fall.  But never guessing that we would really have to think about packing up and leaving.  Not us.

But we are - we've gathered our clothes, our irreplaceable belongings, and our cars are packed.  We're ready.

The wind is quiet here, but still going strong on the other side of the ridgeline.  The fire has jumped the line of retardant they've been laying all day, and is apparently coming over East Camino Cielo Road and the ridgeline.  Four miles away.

We're staying up to date here and here.

UPDATE 5/10/09, 10:30am:

The Jesusita Fire is at 55% containment, only 350 Santa Barbara residents remain evacuated, and weather conditions are favorable for firefighters today.  We are still at home and can hear aircraft hard at work in the distance.  We're staying informed through The Santa Barbara Independent - our favorite resource thus far.