The calls came into the office all day long today. A burn threatened Santa Barbara City.

3PM: Looking out my office window I could see the smoke pillar. Hmm wind is WNW. Headed away from town I had thought.

5:30PM Wind shifted to the NE. NOT good. Had called and e mailed family and friends. If you are south of the fire MOVE. We may have a Sundowner tonight. Sundowner winds are peculiar to SB. They can attain speeds in excess of 100 MPH, and arrive in force post sundown. hence the name. I had been through two horrific fires which had never managed to penetrate into the city downtown. But they had been bad. Many of my pals worked SBFD and I had heard the stories. Black sooty grimness.

6:10 PM From a vantage point South of the fire I was kept abrest by Mary Osborne whose boyfriend Doug had called and even sent an image from the fireline. “Bad” was the word.

8:00 PM Wind shifted again and the temperature rose 10 degrees in the passage of the sun. There it was and I watched the smoke line flatten out as it stretched to embrace the Channel Islands. “Oh no, ohhh no my only thoughts.

8:30 PM Driving S on Hwy 101 I could see what I at first thought was a traffic stop on the northbound lanes. But it turned out to be the biggest convoy of Fireengines and trucks that I have ever seen. The cavalry was racing in.

9:45 PM Winds have calmed inexplicably on the fireline. My sister Misa and her husband Steven just walked in the office door. Evacuees. Here we go. Anything can happen tonight. City is evacuated down to De La Guerra St. City Hall is right there. Oh Fok. My home town is burning!

Tonight may prove to be a long one.

Satellite based wildfire locator is HERE.