We're basically talking about the meteorological equivalent of going to plaid.
Tonight's wind warning is a purple flag warning. We've never had a purple flag warning before. Ever. That's 80 mph winds--128 km/h.
@matigo It looks closer than it is. Most of the actual fire activity has moved away from my immediate area. We got lucky.
For those curious, here's the latest map. I live near the 101/126 junction in the lower middle portion of the map.
The Thomas Fire is now at 90,000 acres (140 square miles/364 square km) and 5% containment. 50,000 people evacuated from 15,000+ homes. And the winds are picking up again…
Looking up 10th Street (CA 150) in Santa Paula towards where the Thomas Fire started. The building on the right with the flag was the first headquarters of the Union Oil Company of California, better known as Union 76.
(Taken from Twitter)
This quote from Battlestar Galactica is a pretty good representation of what the last 36 hours in Ventura have felt like.
Morning, folks…
Still here. Winds calmed down here overnight, and it seems less smoky than last night, which is good. My brother drove to work in Santa Barbara early this morning, and said there were flames on both sides of US 101 along the Rincon, north of Ventura. Hope he can make it home tonight. I may try to go in to the office later.
@kdfrawg We'll be fine. There are many people who are much less fortunate tonight than we are.