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A warm fire on a cold night when you’re camping?  Wow.  Stirring the embers and dodging the smoke while telling pretty lame stories of the ‘whatevers’ that surely roam the dark forest just beyond the light of the flames.  A fun image don’t you think?  

In the Los Padres Mountains that loom above the tourists on State Street and the wharf in Santa Barbara, there is a place they call Windermere.  Windermere is about 140 acres of huge oak trees at the top of the land and sweeping vistas down below.  To the West of Windermere a few miles away, Highway 154 goes over San Marcos Pass and down past Cachuma Reservoir and into a land of well, relaxation.  The Santa Ynez Valley.  Wineries and people that ‘sample’ wine. 

On Saturday, July 8, a car had somehow caught on fire near the 154 at Cachuma Lake and that caused the surrounding brush and trees to catch fire.  It was really hot that day and a bit of a breeze fanned the flames into an almost instant inferno.  There was an amazing rescue of about 90 kids at a nearby camp as the ‘brush’ fire soon became an all out forest fire. 

It was about 2 in the afternoon and I walked out of the house at Windermere to put something in our car when I noticed the smoke.  To the left of the smoke in the Western sky, a cloud that looked like a thunderstorm was rising upward.  I learned later that they call that a pyrocumulus cloud; a result of a good sized fire taking place beneath it. 

I called George and he soon came over to inform us that it was indeed a fire somewhere on the other side of the pass.  Okay, I thought.  But, the wind is blowing in our direction and that’s a lot of smoke.  And George pointed out that the confused snowflakes that were falling all around us were indeed, pieces of ash from the fire.  Then he got word that we were in an evacuation warning area and to stay tuned. 

Then, five minutes later George came back over to us and knocked on the door.  I opened it and invited him in.  To which he said, ‘thanks but we’re now in mandatory evacuation.’  I said, ‘as in get out?’  ‘Yep,’ he answered and not in so many words.  So Mary and I set to packing up.  What do you take?  We’re not living there, but well, we’ve got stuff.  Clothes?  Yes.  Food? Maybe.  TV?  (we brought one since we all have our own version of ‘roughing it’)  Okay, TV.  Not a good time to search for the remote. To say our Honda CRV was loaded well, kind of like I always load it 🙂  was an understatement. 

The smell of smoke was now filling the air and of course, the cloud to the West was growing higher and higher.  We closed all the windows, asked for the Light for the house, the land, the animals, and well, the people.  We drove to the front gate past all the amazing oak trees.  They all looked so innocent.  We thought about the goats and dogs and Val the llama, and the chickens, the cats and the sheep and hell, even the spiders you know?  Everyone and everything. 

We got to the intersection of West Camino Cielo Road and the National Forest entrance to our land.  Two police officers were stationed there to assist and of course, prevent anyone from going even further up the mountain.  Where the heck will THEY go if those flames come roaring over the ridge?  George was there on a quad talking to one of the officers.  We pulled up and asked George if there was anything we could do and he said ‘you’re doing it.’  We thanked the officers for what they were doing and headed down toward Highway 154. 

Some firefighters were at the entrance of a home that sits on a small hill deep in the woods of the mountain. It looked as though they were working at gaining entry to warn or assist.  Good people, those firefighters.  Further down, just before the highway, there is a canyon that opens up to the West and we could clearly see for the first time the amount of smoke that was being created by the furnace below.  We couldn’t see any flames though. 

Once we got to the highway and started down, it was clear we were indeed heading for safety.  When we got to the bottom of Highway 154 in the foothills above Santa Barbara, about 8 miles down from Windermere, we turned West onto Cathedral Oaks Road.  Some people were stopped at a fruit stand.  So surreal I said out loud.  10 minutes ago we were fleeing what was developing into a major forest fire and these people were deciding how many strawberries to buy.

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We drove a few miles West on Cathedral Oaks Road to the turn for a road they call Old San Marcos.  It starts in a normal looking neighborhood (normal until you see what they sell these places for!:) and soon the road begins its VERY windy ascent back up the mountain to eventually join Highway 154 about five miles below Camino Cielo. 

No one was there so we drove up the road a couple miles to a pull out that provides a great view of Windermere a few miles away and I’d say about 1000 feet higher up.  It was a scary view this day.  The sky just over the ridge behind Windermere was turning an orange’yellow color.  To the left or West of  Windermere smoke was already beginning to both rise high into the sky and curl over the top of the mountain. 

The smoke curling over the ridge looked like a soft rain.  Ash was now floating down all around us.  If you were to ask why did you stay there?  I would answer with a voice filled with wisdom, ‘I don’t know.’  At any rate, we had a great vantage point to send copious amounts of Light to the ranch and of course all the surrounding homes and animals and to the obviously growing number of firefighters heading up the highway. 

We took some amazing pictures and a couple of them had a beam of light that seemed to be piercing the heart of Windermere.   Mary started coughing.  Our dog started coughing.  I stood at the driver’s window and when Mary stopped coughing for a moment, I started to smile but had to cough instead.  ‘I think we should go now,’ I said with manly finality. Mary said, ‘oh, okay.’ Which in marriage language means, ‘duh.’ 

I can tell you though it was magnificent how Windermere just kind of sat there with patience and knowing almost surrounded by fire.  I’ll take that image and feeling with me for a darn long time.  I really love that place. We got back onto Cathedral Oaks Road and drove further West.  It was twilight and again strange how life was kind of going on in the neighborhoods.  A guy had pulled into his driveway and was checking his mailbox.  Someone was walking their dog. 

A few more miles to the West Cathedral Oaks crosses a road called Winchester Canyon.  Just beyond that a bunch of people had pulled to the side of the road and were out of their cars looking up at the mountain.  We joined them.  And indeed, huge flames were now engulfing the South side of the mountain and curling up into the night sky.  Weird to feel helpless, yet in awe of the spectacle unfolding high above us. 

To our North was a major fire already at about 8,000 acres and across the street to the South was a subdivision full of really nice homes.  More light sent of course.   From here Windermere is pretty far East and the fire seems to be heading mostly South and West.  Should we send these people the Light too?  Gee, I don’t know minister.  What do you think? 

Then we head into Goleta which is just West and North of Santa Barbara and meet up with our daughter and her husband for some food.  Where do we stop?  A BBQ!  Irony sits behind every corner.  I told the cashier that we’d just been evacuated off the mountain.  He looked at me with empty cell phone eyes and asked, ‘do you want something to drink?’  I said ‘uh, yeah, a beer would be good.

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So it is now nine days later and they’ve just reopened Highway 154.  Mary and I head up to check on Windermere and George and Ted and MJ.  We’d talked to George on the phone of course and he said to be careful of the fire trucks still going up and down Camino Cielo. 

When we first come back onto the ranch, and nothing looks different it is another surreal moment.  The place exudes peace like always.  Why not?  18,000 acres have burned on the mountain and there is still a major fight going on far to the West.  It’s quiet too.  A small breeze drifts through the tops of the trees and the sky is back to brilliant blue.  We drive down to the bunk house and watch the helicopters parade by, some over our heads and some actually below us as they head West to drop water on strategic hot spots.  ‘They’re really not that far away are they when they make their drops.’  I mention out loud. The breeze picks up and our first smell of smoke soon follows along with a bit of apprehension. 

We’re going to come back up to the ranch tomorrow or the next day to see if there’s anything we can do, but wow, the Light seriously put a bubble around Windermere.  And why not?  You guys have been sending it from all over the World.  That’s really cool.  A huge fire.  Main highway closed for nine days.  1200 firefighters working on it. Major news coverage.  And you guys sending enough Light to power the whole planet. So blessed.   

I hope that guy at the fruit stand liked his strawberries 🙂   God Bless you all.     

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