Fire across the gully.

[EFerrari]

I was working on something else and heard something like the Air Force about to land on my head. It turns out, there's a brush fire across the gully. It's crackling dry here right now



The fire is up on the ridge across the gully. There are some houses, some livestock up there.



There is a big fire engine, two trucks, three planes up there and this helicopter laying down what I guess is some kind of suppressant. The horses have taken off for points farthest away from the smoke.



I don't know if they have it contained yet, maybe they do. The coastal wind is blowing SW so that will help.

Scary. My neighbor up there has a bunch of chickens and goats and horses. I hope they're okay. Not a fire expert but it's seemed to me for weeks that you wouldn't need a cigarrette butt or even a cross word to set off a fire up here.

[nosmokes]

1. Stay safe.

[EFerrari]

2. We were lucky this time. No damage to the structures next door

but the hillside on the other side is black all the way up to their driveway. It smells funny, like cold fresh corn tortillas, lol. Maybe that's the smoke and the dispersant.

I was standing out there trying to figure out if I should wet down the slope below our place and realizing that if the fire decided to jump over here, it would take no time to crawl up the hill. That's really something.

Whew!

[EFerrari]

3. San Jose: Firefighters responding to 2-alarm vegetation fire, 2 homes threatened

By John Woolfolk

[e-mail]
Posted: 09/02/2010 03:44:02 PM PDT
Updated: 09/02/2010 07:04:03 PM PDT

With temperatures nearing 100 degrees in the east San Jose foothills Thursday, firefighters scrambled to douse a grass fire that charred five acres and came within about 20 to 30 feet of a few homes.

With high temperatures expected again today, the city ordered nearby Alum Rock Park to the north closed to the public today citing "extreme fire danger."

Thursday's fire was reported at 3:01 p.m. near the intersection of Mount Pleasant and Clayton roads, and firefighters were on the scene in seven minutes, San Jose Fire Capt. Chuck Rangel said. Together with firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, they had the blaze under control by 4:47 p.m., he said.

"The danger has passed," Rangel said, though he noted that Cal Fire will keep watch over the burned area to ensure it doesn't reignite.

"The fire was pretty close to the houses," Rangel said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_15976009?source=rss&nclick_check=1