Jesusita Fire: update, Thursday just before midnight

In February 1970 there was a massive student riot at Santa Barbara's UC campus. The campus, with its reputation for hard partying, seemed an unlikely center for protest, but there it was, and the cops came on very strong.

Not since then, we're being told, has there been as large a law enforcement contingent on the streets and roads of Santa Barbara as there is tonight, with police and sheriff's department officers deployed widely to serve the community by warning citizens of imminent danger, directing the flow of traffic from areas under mandatory evacuation notice, keeping curiosity seekers away from anywhere firefighters are desperately battling the Jesusita Fire.

Yes, the winds came up again, the fireline has moved both east and west. While we are not yet on evacuation warning, it could happen -- and we are packed and ready to go. The Red Cross has set up a second shelter for evacuees -- the first, not far from where we live, is at capacity. The second shelter is at the UC campus, about five miles away, and that's where we'll head if we get the word. If you have a taste for irony, savor it!

The best source for ongoing information is the website of the Santa Barbara Independent. There are spot power outages, and I want to post this now against the possibility that we'll lose our connection. I'll post again when I have a better report to give.

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In a lighter vein, one of the TV guys reported seeing a black bear wandering through a neighborhood, heading away from the fire "with a distracted air."