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I drove to Montecito tonight. I've started playing music at the church we have been attending and tonight was the scheduled rehearsal. I had driven by on HWY-101 several times since the fire, but this was the first time to actually go into Montecito.

The smell of smoke was still in the air. Several signs of "Thank You Firefighters", some big and elaborate, some small and modest, were hanging from fences and between trees.

This is how close the fires got to the church.



The adjacent diagram tells the story from a different perspective. Here is an excerpt from the official "loss of property" from the Santa Barbara county. The burn area just touches the corner of the church.

We are new to the area, so we don't know too many people. But this part of the "Central Coast" has a strong sense of community. People wave at each other on the streets. On the radio, they were naming some of the folks who has lost homes or suffered injury. Turns out that one of the injured is a friend of the DJs.

We don't know anyone who suffered any loss, but we are one degree of separation from several who have lost their homes. And now the healing begins. FEMA is here. Spots on the radio mention insurance teams with 24-hour call numbers. Calls and emails for extra clothes, books, beds, cars, rooms, trucks, and other items are making their rounds.