jcnesq

Major fires in Montecito, CA and heading north to next door Santa Barbara. Hope Edgy (Dan) is OK, I believe he lives in the SB hills.

Edgy01

A long time friend may have lost their home tonight. They were just remarking that it felt like fire weather, and then someone nearby yelled, fire! (It started close to them). They are saying we've lost over 70 homes now. I shot this first shot from Hope Ranch earlier in the evening, and then from downtown for the second. With the aid of night-vision goggles they were actually flying helicopters in and dropping water tonight,--usually they don't for the safety of the crews. Fortunately, I missed the last fire (this summer) by 0.6 miles and this one by about 14 miles! The final shot is fairly self explanatory,--the well-known Santa Barbara Courthouse is in the foreground.

Coochas

OMG Dan.
I was just going to send you a PM after watching the morning news and seeing the fires in SB. I'm glad you are safe.

jrgordonsenior

Glad to hear you're OK. It's been 30 years since the Coyote fire which was started by a kite, and that looks like the same area....

Edgy01

It's very much the same area. 30 years of growth...

fjpdds

Those are some damn dramatic pics.
Hopefully getting it under control.
Best of luck

rvklein

A friend from High school married an actress named Vanessa Angel. I believe they live in Montecito :O

Edgy01

If they're in Montecito,--particularly the eastern end, they are probably okay. The Montecito borderline is further east than most people realize. The area most affected is the Rattlesnake Canyon, Coyote Canyon, and Sycamore Canyon. I remember Vanessa!

Likemystoppie?

rvKlein- did you notice the time you made this post?

9:11 am!


Dan- hope you're okay my friend.

rvklein

Weird. I never get to work that early!

Da Hapa

Edgy -

Prayers for you, yours, your neighbors and the brave men and women of the fire dept's that are out there today.

My wife and I were both at Pepperdine University for the two awful fires in the early/mid '90s and we both recall how frightening that time was. Watching those homes burn to the ground last night and this morning brought back a lot of those memories.

Let's hope the winds stay down and the fire dept can get air crews in the air and protect property and more importantly life.

God bless.

pbarch1

Wow, just talked to a friend of mine that lives east of the village. He is OK so far... pretty scary

MarkD

Dan, I thought this might be in your area... good luck sir.

BTW, totally OT, I thought you were going to be at Laguna Seca last month? I was looking for you car...
Did briefly meet your friend Joe and see his Ruf 3400K. Very nice... and I love the color he came up with.
Hope all is OK.

ADias

I'm happy Dan is safe. We the citizens of CA must take control of the prevention of these fires. The majority of the out-of-control fires starts, or is fueled, by unkept growth that is out of limits due to irresponsible enviro rules.

Da Hapa

While I agree that improper vegetation and a lack of focus on fire prevention fuels the severity of these fires, I think that in truth, the majority of these fires are caused by arson or idiots tossing cigarettes.