Well, I had heard about the two structures from someone who heard it from the parent of a child currently goes to school there. Perhaps it was just a rumor. I hope it was and that the email that you forwarded is true. That would be much better news indeed.
Thacher is ok. They hired a company from Oregon to put a gel retardant on the buildings. Ojai Valley School upper campus had two structures burn. I also had a friends house that is yards away from Adams house burn to the ground. Adam is very lucky to come away with no damage.
Still a situation, but winds are helping keep it from getting out of control. Going to go back to Ojai tomorrow. Will keep you posted.
Thanks for the update, Ryan. Hope your home is still OK?
Tom
Glad to hear Thacher’s ok. Sorry to hear about Ojai Valley School, though. Sounds like one of the destroyed buildings is the science and technology center - one that I did the structural engineering for back in the early 2000’s. 
What an awful situation. Our thoughts are with those of you in the path. Keep safe!
Just noticed the mandatory evacuation on CreekRd has been lifted.
Adam & Helen are located at EncinoDr & CreekRd.
So they should be able to get in today.
Tom
Did you hang around the project long enough to know which of the exterior claddings would have been flammable?
I can understand legacy structures having been built with exposed redwood beams & wooden shingles, back in the day, when people could still rely upon the excuse of damn fool idiocy, but anything built within, say, the last quarter century, with exposed flammables - I’d be worried that that question might leapfrog the civil courts and head straight into the criminal courts.
The Thomas Fire has crossed into Santa Barbara County. The bad news is that it’s in an area that hasn’t burned since the 1964 Coyote Fire and 1971 Romero Fire (see light and dark green areas on the lower right of the 1st map below). The only good news is that it will hit the burn scars from recent fires that took place within the last decade (see 2nd map below).
So little risk to the Santa Ynez Valley at this point, but very real risk to the foothills of Santa Barbara and Montecito.
First off, I should say that I’m definitely not an expert in this area - working on the structural end of things, we accommodate whatever construction types are needed, but we don’t actually do fireproofing design so my knowledge is fairly limited. That said, a few scattered thoughts:
I remember there being a big statewide update with regard to wildland-urban interface areas as part of the 2007 California Building Code (in effect at the beginning of 2008). My impression is that fire requirements were generally less comprehensive and less uniform before then.
Roof finish material and clearance/defensible space requirements of various sorts have been around for quite a while, but a lot of other important things are in play as well - requirements for closed soffits with ember-resistant vents (a relatively recent development), fire-resistant windows, etc.
Codes are public policies, meant to set socially-acceptable minimum standards which consider both risk mitigation and the cost imposed on those who have to follow their requirements. If building plans followed the standards of the time and went through proper review and permitting channels, I’d think it would be difficult to say that something “criminal” or professionally negligent happened on the design side. Also: I am not a lawyer.
Rode out on the Santa Barbara Air Bus at 3:50 am yesterday to go to LAX. Fires covered the foothills behind Montecito, Summerland and Carpenteria with fires not that far away from the 101 in Carp. No fires on the ocean side of La Conchita all the way to Ventura and no signs of fires in the Ventura area as seen from the 101. Terrible air quality, limited visibility and snow like flakes of ash all over, including our place in downtown Santa Barbara. Some friends have lost their homes in the East Montecito area. Sorry to hear of other losses as reported herein. Happy to hear about Adam Tolmach. Good karma wins out there.
Blake,
Thanks for the updates - and so sorry to hear about the losses your friends have experienced. It’s been quite difficult to get ‘accurate information’ about the fire and I was not aware of any structures in Montecito being damaged as I thought the fire was still south of that in the hills above Carpinteria.
The air quality in the Santa Ynez Valley had been okay until Saturday, and then Sunday it turned poor - but not as bad as down your way. The winds then extended this northward, and I heard accounts of poor air quality all the way through Paso and north of there as well. It has now improved tremendously up here, but my fear is that the quality is getting worse in SB and Goleta.
My thoughts and prayers are will all of those affected, and I know the 6000+ firefighters out there are doing all they can . . .
Nice post as usual Larry. The East Monteictio folks were close to Toro Canyon, not that far removed from Summerland/ Carp, which had some serious issues as a result of personal driveways constructed in a a way as to make fire fighting equipment difficult to access if accessible at all.
Again, so sorry to hear about that.
And a friend who lives in the area said the winds have picked up a bit and are not blowing the fire down Toro Canyon instead of up towards the hills. Hopefully they’ll get those tankers back over there ASAP . . .
and this just texted from a friend who has a home at the end of Hidden Valley off Ladera Lane in East Montecito: " Under mandatory evacuation which was received at 2 am 2 days ago with a 15 minute maximum time allowance. Hot spots still exist in Romero and Toro Canyon. Water helicopters and 7000 fire fighters are doing all they can to safe the homes in those areas. Very dangerous still."
Son and his family were evacuated from Montecito Sunday afternoon. He reported the poor air quality was a significant factor.
I’m in Goleta, air has been very marginally better Tuesday and Wednesday, but not much. Downtown Santa Barbara is still pretty rough. Anecdotally, I think Friday, Saturday and Sunday were the worst days air quality-wise in the Santa Barbara-Goleta area.
I went up to Zaca Mesa on Tuesday. Air looked bad in Buellton and Solvang. Foxen Canyon was significantly clearer.
Sorry to all who have suffered losses in this fire.
It seems like the duration of this fire is longer than the multiple “Wine Country” fires of October. The effects are varied and all to be taken seriously, based on my experience here.
Reach out to someone whose sense of security might be altered. If you are safe and not displaced, it is a great time to say hello and how are you. Don’t ask if there is “anything we can do…” Offer a night/day/overstay with camaraderie. Ask if you can help with pets. Can we get food delivered to your temporary shelter? People want to help, there is no doubt. But a “let us know if we can help” is a difficult question for those under stress.
Good suggestion, thanks Merrill!
Thanks, Merrill. My son reported this morning that today (Sat.) is the worst day so far in Montecito. He was back to help evacuate his inlaws and pets. He is strong, smart and quick thinking but I noticed tension in his voice during our short conversation.
Please keep them and all affected in your thoughs and prayers.
after being evacuated last week, we have returned to Carpinteria; however, the smoke today is BY FAR the worst that it has been throughout this ordeal; best of luck to everyone