I talked to them as they were hanging out in their rusty RV by the beach - said they're having a grand time (they're lucky to have a "mobile home" to escape to!). So the story is, they were at the full moon drum circle night before last, and asked the blind guy who does "divining" to bring in the marine layer and dampen the fire.
"What direction do you want the wind to come from?" the blind guy asked, and they responded, "No wind, just calm, damp air!" "Ah, ok." A few hours later, at 2am some cool moisture was felt in the breeze - "It arrived! The marine layer is here!" like some VIP guest to a classy dinner. Ironic enough, as most people detest the foggy grey layer that pervades Santa Barbara in the summer mornings; but everyone is welcoming it now. What would be of light if there was no dark??
"Yeah we went back to check on our house last night, there's parts of the freeway like a lunar landscape, just charred" the RV friend mentioned. I remember from Applied Ecology: big infrequent fires are catastrophic to the ecosystem, but small regular fires are actually great for biodiversity. "The Chumash used to do controlled burns all over the mountains, to protect the oaks from fungus, and get rid of underbrush so the medicinal plants can grow - and keep big fires like this from happening." Do we need a different approach, controlled burns instead of just one mantra, prevention? Can people handle that?
Well, the marine layer is here, thanks to the diviner, and the fire is now 40% contained, after burning ~80 homes, and costing $7MM. The blind guy should have been summoned earlier....
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