It's now burned at least 20 homes and injured 10 firefighters. I was looking at the great coverage by the Pacific Coast Business Times and noticed them quoting owners of business right next to the last place I lived, an apartment on upper State Street.
Turns out that if I still lived there I'd be under an evacuation warning. Click here for a good map of the evacuation and fire areas:
And here's an even better map showing the whole downtown SB area.
Secondly, screw CNN for having a headline up right now that says: California mansions go up in flames. Way for the East Coast pop media to make this sound like a petty problem of the rich.
Here are headlines (with links) tonight about what real people are dealing with from the local Santa Barbara Independent alt weekly:
Jesusita Fire Eyes Goleta
UCSB Offers Counseling for Fire-Related Trauma
Jesusita Fire Turns Tragic Without Warning
Donations Needed for Evacuated Animals
Telemarketing Scam Asks For Firefighter Support Donations
I can't imagine the terror, sadness, tension, and resignation that poor SB-area residents must feel. Or I can, because I've lived in fire-danger areas. And I still have many people I love and respect who live in the path of this fire and the others that will inevitably come this summer. All I can do is send them all my best hopes and thoughts.
Photos by Mark Boster/L.A. Times, Juan Carlo/Ventura County Star, and AP, below. Photos all from today.
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