Santa Barbara on Fire

If you follow the news at all then you have probably seen that Santa Barbara is up in flames. It's devastating. The current estimate is near 200 homes burnt to the ground, 13 injuries, and one possibly dead. I've lived in California for years and have seen fires around me many times. I've never seen anything like this. I was driving home from L.A. last night and was driving into Santa Barbara right as the fire started. I was nearly run off the road by the dozens of fire trucks and emergency vehicles. As the evening progressed the winds got faster and winds were blowing the fires from house to house. At one point the winds were 70 miles an hour. Thousands of people were displaced as they faced evacuations, including personal friends. The sound in the air was explosive as cars that were left behind were exploding. Our hospital issued a release that their trauma center was overcrowded and they plead with the community to not come to the Emergency Room unless you were injured by the fires. The fire is still burning but winds have died down considerably. Several of my business acquaintances have lost their homes and a few friends also. I took a picture from our apartment which is, by the way, 15 miles from the fire. It's the only un-professional picture I am posting but it will show you how large the fire is - seeing as though I am (thankfully) on the opposite side of the city.