Fire!

10:48 am, fire in Carlsbad, 12 miles west on the coast.

We're just finishing the second of 3 days of Santa Ana winds--hot dry east winds that blow toward the coast. Yesterday wind gusts exceeded 65 miles per hour. One resident of our mobile home park lost the roof on their California Room--basically a covered and walled deck. We had tree limbs down all over. And the temperature hovered near 100 degrees. A fire at Rancho Bernardo burned 1600 acres and is now 50% contained. No structures were burned.

12:24 pm. Two fires appear, both about 15 miles away to the north at Fallbrook (right) and Bonsal (left).

Today, was even drier (7% humidity) though the winds were less severe (15-20 miles per hour). It was over 80 degrees at dawn, and quickly rose to 98. It was a bit hot to work outside; I rehydrated regularly between tasks!

These temperatures are extreme. In 3 days we are supposed to be back down to highs of 70--much more typical for spring. "May gray; June gloom" refers to the often cloudy spring weather in southern California.

I noted the Carlsbad fire in late morning. It had claimed several buildings. More fires were reported around the area, most small. Then, a fire started only 3 miles away on the hill on the south side of San Marcos. Unfortunately, several homes on that hill burned also. Tonight at 9:00 pm there are still flames visible and the smokey orange column of smoke has enveloped the entire hill in the photo below.

5:30 pm. Fire in San Marcos.

All told, there were 9 fires today in San Diego County and over 9,000 acres have been burned in the past 2 days.

We went around "after" work, making sure all our residents were prepared in case we had to join the tens of thousands evacuated from our homes today. But the winds are calm and everything seems okay in our neighborhood tonight, though the San Marcos fire is still burning up into the hills.

We'll have to see what tomorrow brings. It is supposed to be 100 degrees again, but perhaps without strong winds. We can hope.