Andrew - one could say the state is short-staffed on fire fighters (and many of us do say that), but also, over one thousand fires burning at one time in California is unprecedented.
The bulk of the fires, from what I heard, are in Mendocino County, Butte County and Shasta County. These were mostly form lightning strikes.

The air quality is much improved today in the San Francisco Bay Area from what it was last Friday. Last friday I was imagining what Beijing looks like on a typical day. Today we had our sunny skies with damp breezes warning us of fog. What a relief!

That fire down in Big Sur is a doozy. Here's thanks to all the fire fighters from California and beyond that are doing their best in very difficult situations.

That was a great local radio web page that someone gave, and it linked on the bottom to this one that I thought you folks might find good to look at.
http://www.surfire2008.org/thankyou.php

It has lots of thank yous to fire fighters and others from folks in the area, in the state and even from overseas. Thought you might want to send your wishes directly to the community.

You can also find links for making donations to help.

As for visiting there after the fires have passed, I imagine any business that is open would be even more pleased than usual to get your business, and ten times more in need than usual.

Good point, Suz. And it's heartening to see how much community spirit there is on that website--neighbors and others coming together to do what needs to be done.

For those interested, Deetjen's had a close call, but they're ok. From what I heard, a burning tree fell on one of the old cabins, but firefighters were right there to remove it and douse the flames--Bravo! They also saved the Henry Miller Library, another close call. Luckily, the other historic inns and restaurants are ok, too. Nepenthe and it's Phoenix shop are open.

Thank you for your replies Barbara and Suz.

Here is an article written today in a local paper. It's not looking good for the people of Big Sur. I sent a message of support and best wishes to the people at Post Ranch Inn who are hunkered down trying to keep the place from burning.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9793483

From SF Gate

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...BAMT11K717.DTL

Mr. Curtis and some of those others have a lot of nerve.

You can rebuild your house. You can't undo losing your life.

Sheesh.

Hello mlgb, I never understand people putting themselves in the way of danger to "protect" property either. Houses can be rebuilt. Losing valuables especially family heirlooms is sad. But dying (and dying by fire is horrible) because of real estate or personal property goes beyond comprehension. I was interested in the comment that people that were insisting on staying were asked for the name of their dentist. For ID purposes of course after their body was burned beyond recognition. Shudder!

Yes, and if it was just themselves, it would be one thing.

But they're also causing greater risk to fire crews and impeding the fire response by staying.

Interesting story about the fire and the community of Big Sur in this morning's San Jose Mercury News.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9800218

Well, well, well, what did I tell you in a previous post?? In my opinion, the owners of Nepenthe are huge narcissists. Their website is down but they're still standing. It's their Internet connection and they're trying to fix it.

Check out the pix in today's L.A. Times - fabulous and gruesome all at once.

Luckily, we haven't had smoke in the Carmel/Pebble Beach/Monterey/Pacific Grove area in a week. Thank heavens for the wind change. We've had fog on and off for a week and that's a good thing.

I'm happy to have read that those in some areas of Big Sur were able to return home yesterday.
LoveItaly,
I heard that you had fires pop up to the north and east of you. Sorry to hear that you have to go through another round of smoky conditions.
Iamq,
I read that the general manager of Post Ranch stayed behind during the fires. He reports that the fires haven't damaged the ranch.

I think it is time to again ask for current smoke conditions. We are leaving Saturday for San Francisco, where we will spend 3 days. We had to give up the Big Sur part of our trip and are instead spending 1 night in Cambria and 2 nights on Catalina Island. How are conditions in SF and Cambria, specifically smoke conditions? What is the best route to get from SF to Cambria, assuming Hwy. 1 is closed? Thanks in advance!

Hwy 1 is slowly reopening, but only to locals. Take 101 south to Hwy 46 west to Cambria.

Hi andrew8, it is suppose to get up to 110 degrees today. Still bad smokey sky and air. Bad pollution day. Anyone that can is strongly advised to stay indoors with windows closed and the AC on. But we also are warned that there may be blackouts due to huge increase of power usage, sigh. Cooling centers have been opened up through our country.

Andrew8, it is so sad. The lovely town of Paradise which is in Butte Country (north of Sacramento) again has raging fires. I read awhile ago that residents of 3,200 houses have been ordered to evacuate their homes.

We are inbetween all the fires and being in a valley..well it is miserable. There was a fire here yesterday but thankfully it was put out fairly quick. We can't complain andrew8, inspite of the heat and air..we are not having to worry about our homes and businesses burning down.

You can get a local area forecast for Cambria at

www.ksby.com

Not sure if they have smoke but apparently it's very, very foggy at the coast today!

Not only Paradise but Forest Ranch and Berry Creek. Those areas area all wooded and incredibly beautiful. It breaks my heart to see these areas go up in flames.

It was very smoky on the Monterey Peninsula the past two days. Today, it is less smoky with fog and we're supposed to get some heat.

LoveItaly, sound like a good day to stay home and read a new book! I hope this all clears up soon, but you know other fires will start somewhere else.

What do you think about the Governator's idea of having all property owners pay a $12 annual fee for firefighting? It doesn't sound too bad to me. Firefighting costs a huge amount of money and we do seem to need it all year round now. I don't think insurance companies should be the fee collectors, though.

Friends of ours lost their house and several out buildings in the fire that is ravaging Butte County.
Our friend is a builder and the house was a labor of love for him. It was a spectacular and unique home, one in which he had about 5 years of blood, sweat and tears invested. My heart is breaking for him and his wife.

I am thrilled that the fire crews were able to hold the fire line in Big Sur and in some cases push the fire back. It is apparently about 25% contained.

That is so sad iamq, heartbreaking! And I have been told by a neighbor who use to live in Paradis that Paradise is home to a lot of senior citizens so the elderly and especially those with health problems are no doubt having a terrible time with having to leave their homes.

Hi Barbara, I think I mentioned to you before what with our very early warm spring and no rain I suspected it was going to be a long hot summer with lots of fires. Sadly I was right. Yes, I think CA will be dealing with fires the entire season. I hadn't heard about the $12.00 annual charge. I sure do not have any problem with that, not at all, but wouldn't it be better to have it added to our property tax bill than our insurance premium? Just a thought.

LoveItaly,
You always have the best attitude in regards to your horrible weather conditions. Please be careful in the extreme heat and the smoky conditions.
Iamq,
Sorry for the loss of your friends house in Butte County. I could not even imagine losing everything in a fire.
Barbara,
My wife and I are planning on moving to the Santa Barbara area in the future. I'm all for paying a $12 tax for fighting forest fires.

My wife and I were 13 miles away from the Goleta Gap fire when were visiting Santa Barbara last week. On our first day of sailing we had noticed a very smoky haze over the mountain ridge. The conditions were near perfect as we sailed away from Santa Barbara toward Montecito and Carpinteria.