Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – in the South Bay

This morning, even though I live many miles from the Santa Cruz fires, my nostrils were immediately assaulted by the odor of burning vegetation—and sadly, homes. Friends who live as far north as Mountain View tell me that the noxious odors are also causing watery eyes and coughing in their area as well. When I look to the hills, a plume of acrid smoke is clearly visible. It is so bad that health officials have warned residents of Santa Clara County to stay indoors if possible.

According to the Mercury News, over 3,000 acres of trees and brush and 20 homes have been consumed by the blaze at present, and over 300 homes have been evacuated in advance of the fire. Thankfully, so far no injuries have been reported.

Although no cause has been definitely cited, the location where the fire started has been pinpointed to an empty lot beside the woods on Summit Road, at mile marker 7.53. A Mercury News article stated that it appeared that someone had been clearing brush on this lot.

Unpredictable winds, gusting up to 50 mph on Thursday helped to turn this blaze into a all out inferno. According to KTVU.com, the cost of fighting this fire has already hit $1.7M. Today the winds are expected to die down somewhat, which hopefully will give our firefighters a chance to get the upper hand.

If indeed this fire was caused by someone clearing brush—I question why there are not stricter laws about this practice during dry times, when the beautiful mountains are so vulnerable. I also question the wisdom of those who chose this time to clear their brush, especially when it was right next to the forest. I did find a wonderful document detailing all the precautions homeowners who live in the mountains can take to protect their homes from wildfires here—it is too late for this fire, but if you live in or near the Santa Cruz Mountains, I highly suggest you download and read it.

[Photo credit: KTVU.com]