Skip to main content

Goleta Gap Fire




Most residents of Santa Barbara would say they live here as a "lifestyle choice." The options for outdoor activities are limitless and accessible all year long: hiking trails, bike paths, lawn bowling clubs, polo fields, sailing, Frisbee golf and, of course, the beach. Rare is the weekend that some community-wide event isn't being celebrated: Fiesta, Summer Solstice, Dog Parade, Whale Festival, sand castle contests, Parade of Lights, art shows, museum exhibits, Night Moves ....

There is a price to pay for all of this peace, though. Earthquakes and floods (we were evacuated shortly after buying our home) have done their part to add to the excitement, and now the 2,000 acre Gap Fire burning in Goleta is keeping us on alert.

Evacuation warnings aren't in place for our neighborhood, but we spent 6-hours without electricity last night (which also means there was an anxious 6-year-old wriggling in my bed all night long) and the athletic club was closed due to the thick layer of ash on the pool and orange chemical retardant in the air. You can see from the flames visible in the pictures above (taken from our driveway and street corner) the reason we've given some thought to pre-packing the car for a quick getaway.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lucie and the Problem of Evil

Lucie has suddenly started questioning things. And by things, I mean eternal things. It all started when she asked if I would read her a bedtime story from the Bible storybook. The book opens innocently enough with the story of creation. There are lions and tigers and bears, and naked people being created from dust. (At this point in the story you’d think questions would arise, but no, kids just seem to go along with it at face value. Which is exactly the reason I've had to work so hard to convince Lucie that turtleneck shirts are not actually made from the necks of turtles.) Anyways ... "Do you know why Adam and Eve are sad?" I asked, pointing at the picture of them sorrowfully leaving the garden. "I sure do, " Lucie assured me. "They are sad because they don't have any parents."  Impressive, huh? Clearly, she’d been processing and following along. "Well there is that," I prodded her, "and also they have to leave the ...
4 comments
Read more

I Scream, You Scream

My mom and dad risked shame and flogging by wrapping up a kitchen appliance for my birthday. My mom, knowing how I feel about presents that plug-in, questioned Rob twice: "Are you sure that's what she wants?" But I did want it very much, and I'm not ashamed to say it: I'm in love with an ice cream maker. July is National Ice Cream month, and my family is doing our part to celebrate. We've sampled and modified a number of homemade ice cream experiments, and have narrowed it down to two recipes that everyone loves. Think of this post as a Wagner Family Ice Cream Cookbook.  The competition is by no means closed. July is a long, hot month and we are always willing to whip up another batch. Submit your favorite homemade ice cream recipe in the comments section below. (Particularly if you've got one that tastes like Haagen Dazs Coffee, hint hint.) Happy freezing! And remember: there is almost nothing that ice cream can't fix. COPYCAT PINKB...
3 comments
Read more

Say This!

Picture by Grayson (our 9 year-old) Last week we reached another one of those parenting milestones. At 27+ months of age, Violet said her first real words: "Mama! Me go!"  Three little words so beautiful, so stunning and unexpected, they stopped me in my tracks. Even the other kids dropped their activities and ran out to verify that, yes, Violet had spoken. We hugged and touch-down-danced and, of course, Violet got to "go." When you have a child who is the tiniest bit developmentally delayed, small accomplishments are met with big celebration. Lucie insists on accompanying me on simple errands? I need to figure out a way to sneak out the door more efficiently; Violet suddenly says that she wants to go? Hot dog! Get the video camera and your shoes on kiddo! Therapists have been coming to the house since the first week of January, evaluating Violet's delays. At her last check in, she had about 15 simple words in her vocabulary -- about 100 words u...
2 comments
Read more