Jesusita Fire, Santa Barbara

The TV reporter on KCAL news just said the fire is at the corner of Cheltenham Road and Williams Way, which is the corner 3 houses from which is my family home. I talked to my brother, who lives in the home, and he said it's probably gone. He saw one of the neighbor's home in flames on the local news, so he's not hopeful that his home has been spared. What appeared to be a declining fire suddenly exploded into flames and began roaring through the Mission Canyon area of Santa Barbara completely out of control about 3:00 pm this afternoon.

Hard to watch the home your father built 60 years ago go up in flames, but, on the other hand, it's just a structure. The people and most of their things are safe, so the house can be rebuilt -- if that's what it is going to take. The house is insured, so it's a matter of pulling plans, cleaning up the debris, and starting fresh. One way or another, you deal with what life hands you the best way you can because that's what you have to do.

At the other end of the block, the Ben Lomand end, is a canyon, Palomino Canyon, filled with expensive huge homes that took the brunt of the fire when it suddenly flared this afternoon. The fire is at the whim of the winds, gusting to 75 mph, snaking around the neighborhood taking this house and not that one: it's simply fate which house goes and which house survives.

What everyone is praying for now is that the fire does not travel toward the Old Mission or down San Roque Road to State Street as that takes it through the city. There are many old homes and buildings in Santa Barbara, homes that will go up like kindling if the fire heads that way. The planes are grounded due to the winds, so the firefighters are hampered in efforts to fight the fire, but there are boots on the ground giving it their all and the choppers are still in the air making water drops.

I guess we'll all wait and see what comes with the dawn.