a new day...

It is 6 am here, and much has changed overnight.

The smell of smoke outside is strong now, and has permeated throughout the lower level of the house.

Outside, it's raining ash. There is a dull red glow on the horizon behind our house - I can't tell whether that's the sunrise or fire.

There are now two large advisory evacuation zones that are side by side and envelope over half the county.

The border of those zones is about 3 miles from our house. That mean we are included in one of the zones. We haven't gotten any calls though, so we will continue to monitor for now and watch how traffic in our neighborhood happens.

Alberto has asked that we stay together until this is over and I agree. Continental is offering a one-time change option if you are flying to/from San Diego without fee, as long as your rescheduled flight starts before your original flight would have ended. I will be exercising that option.

Here is a link to maps of the evacuation zones. The fire that is now of greatest concern to us is the Witch Fire. Originally, it was the Coronado Hills Fire, but that one has been 100% contained, and the Witch Fire still burns out of control, creeping closer all the time:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/images/071022witch.gif

Other relevant posts today:
Witch Creek Fire continues out of control
Posted @ 5:44 AM

The biggest wildfire burning in San Diego County continues to rage out of control today. The so-called Witch Creek Fire, which started Sunday with a transformer explosion near Highway 78 and Bandy Canyon Road and eventually destroyed about 70 homes, merged yesterday with another fire that started about the same time in the San Pasqual Valley, fire officials said. All together, more than 145,000 acres have been scorched, and about 500 homes have been destroyed, along with 50 "outbuildings" ' and 100 commercial buildings, according to the California Department of Forestry, or Cal Fire. Seven firefighters and one civilian have been reported injured. With strong winds expected again today, some fire officials warned that the conflagration could prove more disastrous than the 2003 Cedar Fire that charred 280,278 acres and killed 15 people. Among the hardest-hit areas is northern Rancho Bernardo, where as many as 300 homes went up in flames Monday, according to a group of firefighters taking a break at a strip mall on West Bernardo Drive last night.Rob Lukaszewicz described the conditions he and his colleagues were facing as "twice as bad" as the Cedar Fire. "We triaged the houses out into what we could save and what we couldn't,'' he said. About 70 houses in Escondido were lost, along with about 50 in Poway and six in Rancho Santa Fe, according to Cal Fire.The blaze prompted the evacuation of Fallbrook and Pomerado hospitals, and most area schools were closed Monday. About 34,000 San Diego Gas & Electric customers were without elecricity last night. About 1,200 National Guard troops are expected to help with la enforcement, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said Monday. The San Diego Fire Department committed about 450 firefighters and 98 trucks to the fire. Shelters were set up at Qualcomm Stadium, Santana High School, Poway Community Park, Poway Girls & Boys Club, Campo Community Center, Mission Hills High School, Mira Mesa High School, Escondido High School, the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Steele Canyon High School and San Marcos High School. The fire, formerly known as the Witch Creek Fire, has been fueled by thick, old-growth brush just outside the burn area of the Cedar Fire, considered one of the worst wildfires in state history. That conflagration, which broke out the evening of Oct. 25, 2003 after a lost hunter set a signal fire, destroyed more than 2,200 homes and caused $1.06 billion in insured losses.

Fire boundaries unclear
Posted @ 3:57 AM
Fire authorities said they won't be able to provide street-by-street damage tolls for some time, and that they don't even have the information for their own use. They said their goal was getting a handle on the county's wildfires.Given the wild winds and the fire's unpredictable spread, the firefighters are likely too busy trying to save homes.Here's a breakdown of the fires, from Tuesday's U-T:
WITCH CREEK FIRE
As of 10:30 p.m. Monday
First reported: 12:37 p.m. Sunday
Acres burned: 145,000
Containment: 0 percent
Structures lost: 500 homes, 50 outbuildings, 100 commercial buildings
Resources: 625 firefighters, 89 engines, six helicopters, five air tankers shared with Harris fire
Deaths: zero
Injuries: eight, including seven firefighters
SOURCE: Cal Fire

Coronado Hills Fire
As of 10:30 p.m. Monday
First reported: 1:50 a.m. Monday
Acres burned: 300
Containment: 100 percent
Structures lost: at least two
Resources: 40 firefighters, 25 engines
Deaths: zero
Injuries: zero
SOURCE: San Marcos Fire Department

RICE CANYON FIRE
As of 10:30 p.m. Monday
First reported: 4:16 a.m. Monday
Acres burned: 1,500
Containment: 0 percent
Structures lost: close to 100
Resources: 50 firefighters, five engines
Deaths: zero
Injuries: zero
SOURCE: Cal Fire

McCOY FIRE
As of 10:30 p.m. Monday
First reported: 11:37 p.m. Monday
Acres burned: 400
Containment: 100 percent
Structures lost: one
Resources: 30 firefighters, five engines
Deaths: zero
Injuries: zero
SOURCE: Cal Fire