Maya, evacuee dog

I like reading Sunday's post, in which I said we didn't expect to evacuate.  Less than 24 hours after I posted that, we evacuated. The fire (at the time I write this) is at least 60,000+ acres and right on the edges of town.  Official reports have it about 2-4 miles from our house, while real time satellite imagery suggests that spot fires may be starting much closer.  Real time satellite imagery is a terrible thing.

Maya is doing fine, safe and happy at a familiar boarding kennel here in Santa Fe.  We are fine too, though the experience is draining.  In order to keep busy, I spent the morning cleaning kennels and walking dogs down at the local shelter.  They have been taking in evacuee pets, which leads to a certain amount of disarray and short-handedness, so it was nice to feel useful.  We rounded out the afternoon with a movie and a shopping trip to buy food & water for evacuees in shelters and emergency crews.  Now to come up with a full day's worth of activities for tomorrow.

The fire in question is being called the Las Conchas fire, because it started across from the Las Conchas trail head and climbing area (hikers and climbers were evacuated safely).  According to several people I know, the high winds blew a tree down across power lines, and the tinder-dry conditions led to the start of the fire.  The high winds caused the fire to become a raging inferno, spreading tens of thousands of acres in mere hours.  It is likely that it will continue to grow over the next few days.

Websites with fire information:

http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com

http://inciweb.org

Videos of the fire:

http://www.koat.com/video/28367979/detail.html

Time lapse video of the fire's initial growth (from Sunday)

It doesn't look like that now, of course.  There is nothing but a thick cloud of smoke over our home now, just a wall of brownish-gray to the northwest.  We can't even see the mountains. Tonight, the smoke has settled thickly over Santa Fe, and the air smells like fire again.