Day 9: Still Smokey in Ventura California

Our local TV news have stated the fire started near the Steckel Park KOA, located along highway 150 between Santa Paula and Ojai. No cause has yet been reported to the public.

Now it's been nine days since the Thomas Fire ignited. We have been under Red Flag Warning the entire time, which remains in effect until this evening.

And the fire rages on!

I snapped this picture from my backyard Sunday afternoon, a safe 30 miles or so in a straight line from Moorpark to the front lines of the fire in the Los Padres National forest north of Ojai.

While concerned about the menacing smoke plume and the relentless winds, we have been fortunate indeed to have been spared the smoke, ash and most of all fire throughout this incident. The closest encounter with the fire here came last Thursday when flames could be seen locally from the inferno burning just North of Fillmore.

I had my essential things staged for a possible short-notice evacuation; fortunately, that order never materialized.

Change of plans

All looked favorable Tuesday morning for a bike ride with my buddy from Ventura up the coast to Carpinteria. This would be a casual outing to get a closer look at the fire from the safe vantage point of the coastal bike path.

That was the plan...

No, we did not get to this point. This picture was taken long before the fire started.

Instead, as I arrived in Ventura and opened the door of my sealed recirculated car ventilation, the outside air reeked. It had the overwhelming stench of stale smoke.

It was visually apparent that while the fire had moved on, the smoke from the fire to the north still had a grip on Ventura - 9 days after the flames tore through the city.

We decided that the air quality was way too poor to ride North, so we settled for a quick tour through some of the fire-scorched earth lying just a few blocks from the ocean pier.

Here is what we found in the near-by hillside development.

While the air was better here, this apartment building was a total loss. Perhaps 40 families had suddenly lost their home.

It was obvious from the canyons from both sides of the structure why they did not have a chance.

I felt fortunate indeed to return home to much clearer skies, having been spared natures rage a mere 30 miles from the carnage. It was just luck that the winds did not blow the fire in my towns direction.