Fire! (Again...)
November 13th, 2008 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shiredancerOh, crap. I *thought* fire season was over; I *thought* we were heading into some cozy, cool weather at last. Well, I thought wrong. The hills above Santa Barbara and Montecito are on fire. Again. This is much worse than the summer fire -- many homes are burning. Several of Kidlet's friends' homes have been evacuated, I'm sure. I hope none of them have been lost. Her high school is an emergency Red Cross shelter for these events -- I wonder if they realize the fall play is going on tonight, and if they will be able to work around the already-crowded parking lot?
There are a thousand students hunkered down in the gym at Westmont College, with the fire burning around them. The gym is fireproof and a declared refuge during emergencies; still, if I were the parent of one of those students, I'd be frantic with worry.
A state of emergency has been declared. There are high winds up in the hills, 70 miles per hour and more ("almost hurricane force!" the media keep saying) and it's shaping up to be a long night for the firefighters and other emergency personnel. There are two burn victims at the hospital. This is looking bad.
It has the bizarre name of the Tea Fire, so-called because it started "near the Tea House." This is said blandly by the news reporters, as if we all of course know what the Tea House is. Now, I've been here 36 years and can't figure it out. Unless they mean the little tea house on the grounds of the Botanical Garden? O_o That would be bad.
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juneb, if you read this -- the area burning is all along the back country drive we took when you visited two summers ago. Remember Mountain Drive? Yeah, there.
*goes back to biting nails*
ETA: oops, didn't mean to get quite so dramatic -- Westmont College isn't engulfed in fire or anything, but there are several small fires on campus and nearby. With luck they'll all get put out.
There are a thousand students hunkered down in the gym at Westmont College, with the fire burning around them. The gym is fireproof and a declared refuge during emergencies; still, if I were the parent of one of those students, I'd be frantic with worry.
A state of emergency has been declared. There are high winds up in the hills, 70 miles per hour and more ("almost hurricane force!" the media keep saying) and it's shaping up to be a long night for the firefighters and other emergency personnel. There are two burn victims at the hospital. This is looking bad.
It has the bizarre name of the Tea Fire, so-called because it started "near the Tea House." This is said blandly by the news reporters, as if we all of course know what the Tea House is. Now, I've been here 36 years and can't figure it out. Unless they mean the little tea house on the grounds of the Botanical Garden? O_o That would be bad.
juneb, if you read this -- the area burning is all along the back country drive we took when you visited two summers ago. Remember Mountain Drive? Yeah, there.*goes back to biting nails*
ETA: oops, didn't mean to get quite so dramatic -- Westmont College isn't engulfed in fire or anything, but there are several small fires on campus and nearby. With luck they'll all get put out.
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Date: November 14th, 2008 05:46 am (UTC)My alternate choice for college was Westmont. I'm familiar with the area. Wow, that's a bad bunch of fuel around those buildings. After two drought years, it's probably tinder-dry, even with the couple showers we've had move through the state.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all, my dear. I hope all turns out well and people stay safe.
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Date: November 14th, 2008 06:21 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: November 14th, 2008 01:17 pm (UTC)Just the thought of fires like that make me shudder. Just take care of yourself, ok? ::worries::
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Date: November 14th, 2008 04:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: November 14th, 2008 08:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: November 14th, 2008 10:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: November 15th, 2008 12:13 am (UTC)Still am.
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