When I grew up in California, it was an accepted fact that wildfires were a very dangerous possibility, more so than earthquakes. The conditions are just so perfect there, with the hot, dry Santa Ana winds (called sundowners by the locals) coming down the mountains to the beach. [link]

Anyway, there's been a "small" [link] (thick red line) wildfire that's been going on since Wednesday. It didn't burn much acreage or many houses (relatively), but it still had a huge impact. I'm sure that people were remembering back to the Painted Cave fire in 1990, [link] which destroyed 427 homes in just the first 2 hours. My brother lost his apartment in that fire, along with everything he owned except for his cats, one of whom was found at the site of the fire, miraculously unhurt.

The Jesusita Fire is now 85% contained, thanks to the valiant efforts of more than 4,000 firefighters and hotshots, but one of the biggest casualties was man-made. [link] The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is an incredible place. I hope they make a full recovery, as that Garden was one of the main catalysts for my love and fascination with plants of all kinds. I think the only reason the website [link] hasn't been updated is because the office was in the main building which was destroyed.

Despite the dangers, I still miss California. For those who have opened the google map, zoom in to Highway 154 and follow it north until you see Paradise Road, then follow that east until you see Fremont Tract. That's one of the places I grew up. For added amazement, make sure to go to street view and drive over the crest of the pass (154 near Camino Cielo), or check it out in google earth. The large brown hill straight ahead as you start to head down the mountain is called Sage Hill, and I spent a lot of time hiking there.

Anyway, I think that's enough rambling on my part. My thoughts and prayers go out to those displaced and affected by the Jesusita Fire, which I'm afraid will only be the first of many this fire season.