Burning Down The House

For those of you who were up late at night worried about me and my family in the reported "Santa Barbara Fire" that has been in the news, here is a quick update:

The fire, referred to as the "Tea Fire", was a brush fire in Montecito, slightly south of Santa Barbara. Over 80 families have lost their homes and I feel sorry for their losses. Only 4 people have been reported with burn injuries though I believe they all survived. Montecito is one of the wealthiest communities in the country with many famous people within the city limits. Fortunately for Oprah, your idol likely lives on the westside of the freeway overlooking the water and the fire is on the mountain side. However, the blaze was burning strong last night and it was very visible from UCSB in Goleta, the city north of SB where we live. As of 4 am today the fire is fairly contained but as at least two of the teachers at the kids' school live in the evacuation zone or south of there, school has been canceled today.

Montecito has been declared a state of disaster--the fact that so many people in that area were very wealthy is an indicator that they had good fire insurance but the sense of loss many of them must be experiencing must still be painful, particularly those older families who have been there for their entire lives. I have to admit my snobbery in wondering if it is easier to lose everything you own if you can afford to replace it all with better stuff, with or without the insurance policy, but I am sure that there are enough of the OGs in the community to really justify sorrow on their behalf.

My prayers and thoughts go out to them and may their harddrives be backed up in some secure location.