approximately >40 miles from here two weeks or so ago
near the st thomas aquinas college
the cause hasnt been determined yet
this starting point is well over 40+ miles away from here
it is mostly moving northward and westernly
when its moving on the western edge it can drop southernly
that means it drops on top of us
thats what it did on saturday morning
i felt like for those who live in the south or the midwest
that feeling you get when the tornado warnings go off
you know its about to hit you
but
you dont have a storm cellar to go to
if it misses you
you are relieved
since it started it has burned around 270,000 acres
it will before it is all put out become the largest fire
ever in california
so far it as cost over $100 million dollars to fight the fire
using over 8500 firefighters from all over the country
you see them sleeping in their firetrucks parked all over
the place
in the parking lot where i garden it was mostly full of these
firetrucks on saturday morning full of firefighters
some were still asleep sitting up as i went to check on my
garden just at dawn
thats when i took the above picture from the garden area
you could see the worried look on their faces
they knew they were in for a fight that day
the calm before the storm
it was like looking at the faces of soldiers right before
they went into battle
as of today the fire is 40%+ contained
expected containment is in january maybe in february
so
saturday morning i started watching the news on the local station
about 500 am
the reporter was standing above montecito
giving a report about the glow way up the mountain
little wind was blowing
the next time they came back to him
the wind was blowing
a sundowner its called
usually coming as the sun goes down
this one should have been called the sunriser wind
you could see the leaves and the branches starting to
move above his head
then
the fire just popped up in the mountains
it started moving down the hill
he evacuated and set up down the hillside
from there it only got worse
at day break i went to water my garden as i wrote above
it was calm
looking back towards the montecito hills i could see this
plume
the kind you see when an atomic bomb was dropped
thats all i could think of when i saw the plume
i quickly watered my garden well
as i left i told the firefighters
thinking as i talked to them
of my younger brother joe and my three nephews
all who were or are now firemen
is this what they had to deal with in their careers
they seemed relaxed those firefighters
ready for the day they were
just with a worried look on their faces
on the way back
the winds hit
almost blowing me off the road
the gusts were up to 60 plus mph
for the fire
it was like if you have made the mistake of
pouring gas on a fire
it just exploded that fire and it took off
when i left our condo except for the plume
it was almost crystal clear
when i arrived back to the condo
i was only gone about 20 minutes
it was like a thick fog everywhere
i didnt have my mask on
i could feel it deep down in my lungs
whenever i took a deep breath
when i got inside the news reports came on
the voluntary evacuation area had dropped down
to our street
we had already decided
voluntary meant manditory
so we grabbed our packed bags
which we packed over a week ago
grabbed a satchel of records
my grandmothers handmade pillow
my electronic stuff bag
my wife she
my motherinlaw
and
off we went to the los angeles area
our older son and his family ie ms b evacuated
with us
my wife she looked at me and we both said
arent we glad we did that minimalist thing
months ago when we moved here
giving away all that stuff to folks that we would
have tried to save
this fire just took off
it raced down the hills above montecito and santa barbara
like a drag racer taking off or a down hill avalanche
you could see it in the eyes and voice of the commander
as he was interviewed
we are in a fight
he said
fought they did
hundreds of firefighters
hundreds of firetrucks
thousands of gallons of water and retardent
miles and miles of water hose had been laid over the last week
it was like
a war battle
well over a thousand homes were saved
like oprahs and ellens and rob lowes and thankful my
sisterinlaws place
a family friend though sadly lost his home
in the hills of montecito
so did a few others
17000 were evacuated
30000 were placed in voluntary evacuation
the fire in 12 hours burned through over 11,000 acres
so here we are on monday morning
the winds are calm
they will be that way for 2 1/2 days
then on wednesday night they are scheduled to take off again
it almost feels like we are in this war zone
we are in the calm before the storm
just before the troops go out for the last battle
that will determine the war
thats where we are today
our bags are packed
we plan to leave again
maybe not as far
but to a place nearby that should not burn
as i told relatives
im use to dealing with thunder storms and tornadoes
but
this fire thing feels different
it more like being in war
we dont like it at all
one firefighter was killed
his group was doing a back fire burning when the fire
jumped back on top of him
he died from burns and smoke inhalation
his name was corey iverson
he was 32 years old
he has a wife
a small child
his wife is pregnant
here is a go fund me page for donations for his family
and unborn child
i plan to use some of our christmas gift money to donate to them
i rather my gift be to them than to my wife she or me
link to the cory iverson gofundme page
i also was thinking about all that tax fight stuff in washington
all that other garbage thats going on
this is where i want my tax money spent
where it directly affects folks lives
this is money well spent fighting these fires
i would hate to see what his place would look like
right now if our state local federal government didint support
fighting these fires
yes
we all have two days to regroup
yes
to answer those who asked
would you still move here if you had to do it again
as we played with ms b
safe in a friends home in the los angeles area
you betcha
the organicgreen doctor
Keep your mask with you at all times! A drop of peppermint essential oil helps with breathing and gives a festive feel...
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