Currently there are nearly 1800 fires burning all over the state, and a state of emergency has been declared. Thankfully, I dont think there have been any casualties so far but the fire department's resources are really spread thin. The sheer volume of these fires is overwhelming.
The highest priority fire currently and the closest one to Santa Barbara is about 8 miles north, up in Goleta, and the skies have been red and the air filled with smoke all day. It even burnt through some power lines causing a power cut last evening throughout the city. Quite a few neighborhoods are on evacuation alert. And the fire is less than 10% contained. Another problem that the firefighters face are the winds which shift direction at night blowing toward the coast, which is likely to move the fire due south. Just last night, it burnt through 2000 acres of land, and it is just two days old!
And amid all this, the 4th of July fireworks tomorrow are scheduled to go ahead as planned. Seriously, I think people ought to put things into perspective. The last thing we need to do right now is play with fire!
