2am:
As you can see, I couldn't sleep. Edhat did a midnight post with some great info. I managed to find this 1:43am view along the ridge toward the East showing fire on both sides.
Update 2:20pm:
Google has added a Public Alert page for SB County, so far with little on the Whittier Fire. Below are some image files that (depending on web browser) you might be able to click on or download for larger or full-size versions.
Here's the topo chart with composite infrared satellite image overlays for the Whittier Fire:
Here's a zoomed in crop of the same image:
Here's a gMaps link to that easternmost spot just over a mile from Hwy.154 at Old San Marcos Road at about 34°28'56.4"N 119°48'47.0"W (34.482333, -119.813052), and below is a screencap of that from gMaps Satellite view.
Update 3pm:
Here's a new composite satellite InfraRed (IR) topo map of the fire, indicating that some spot fires popped up to the West since the above earlier map posted at 2:20 7/9.
Update 4:30pm:
Broadcast Peak looks likely to survive the fire that has just been making a run on it. Most of the transmitters there have been off air since yesterday afternoon, either due to loss of power or preventative shutdown. Either way it's unlikely they'll be broadcasting again until power is reliably on and technicians can clean everything up and check all the equipment. Cable channels are reportedly unaffected, since the stations feed their signals direct rather than broadcast. Here's a 4:11pm view to the North showing how close it came as it was stopped at the ridge but is still burning toward the East.
Looking toward the West at 4:20pm you can see that the area from NNW to West is still burning fiercely.
Update 6pm:
The winds are calmer and more favorable but we still have a temperature inversion (hotter in the mountains), as you can see from this map of Personal Weather Stations (PWS).
The number inside a dot is the temperature, and the "flagpole" points toward where the wind is coming from. The size and number of flags indicates the wind strength (more flags = stronger wind).
Update 6:30pm:
Here's the latest FAA map of Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) showing the ones for the Alamo and Whittier Fires. TFRs are the red boxes, and all flights other than those explicitly authorized by the fire controller are strictly prohibited.
I'm glad not to have seen any reports so far of anyone flying a drone or aircraft into those areas, so that the fire aircraft can hopefully get a solid perimeter set up to help out the exhausted ground crews.
I seeing on radar some probable rain and possible thunderstorms in the region. Hopefully those won't have lightning that starts new fires.
Update 7:15pm:
Here are the most recent visible and InfraRed (IR) satellite images, both from 6:30pm. The IR shows relative sizes and the locations of the hottest areas of the Alamo & Whittier Fires as white dots.
The visible image shows what the main smoke plumes are doing, along with scattered clouds.
Update 7:45pm:
Here's the full color satellite view of our region today with IR heat detections overlaid. The smoke plume going toward the NNW is good news for Goleta, possibly worrisome for Santa Ynez.
Update 10:45pm:
It's looking like the Whittier Fire might be calming down, and I am too. This will probably be my last post for tonight, and possibly until there's other big news in the region. Los Padres FS (in command of the fire) said the outlook is promising but still only 5% contained with size estimated at 7,800 acres in their 8:48 report. This 9:30pm IR sat also looks promising, with the heat level of the fire greatly reduced.
Here's a lower-resolution topo chart with the lower-resolution IR sat fire detection circles turned off so the hi-res ones show up better, and the red color pumped up in an image editor to better show the relatively small spot fires I downloaded at 10pm.
Next a series of remote camera night pix from Santa Ynez Peak, that somewhat corresponds with the above IR sat spots. The views are looking North, East (with moonlight at the top just right of center, over the city lights), South and then West where there's still a relatively large fire going near the road.
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| North from SY Peak 10pm. |
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| East from SY Peak 10pm. |
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| South from SY Peak 10pm. |
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West from SY Peak 10pm.
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Ray Ford posted some of his excellent fire pix. To close for tonight, below are a couple of snaps I took just after sunset from 101 at 154. Here's to a safe and successful night for the fire crews, a quick return home for everyone displaced, a sound sleep for most of us, and a bright tomorrow in dwindling smoke during final cleanup.
