I've been checking the weather service for the last couple of days and they
promise the winds will die down to a more acceptable strength after midnight, so I am holding them to that.
I can't imagine how much longer it will take us and how much more diesel we'll have to buy if the winds stay at their current 40mph. Hope we don't blow off the Lake Shasta bridge....
EDIT:
Firefighters are evacuating residents near a wildfire that is burning out of control this morning in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire has burned about 500 acres.
The fire, which has been burning since about 5:30 a.m., is raging in an area between Uvas County Park and Mount Madonna County Park, on the Santa Cruz County side of Summit Road.
Sheriff's deputies from Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties are in the process of evacuating residents living in a three-mile stretch from Mount Madonna Road to Ormsby Cutoff Road, which ties in with Summit Road, according to Chris Morgan, a fire prevention specialist. Morgan estimates there are at least 20 homes in the are being threatened by the fire.
"Our main priority is evacuations, getting people out safely," Morgan said. "Then we can start working the perimeter of the fire."
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Van Gerwen said the fire, which apparently started near the intersection of Summit and Loma Prieta roads, is difficult to fight because of extreme winds as strong as 40 mph and heavy brush and timber. The fire is burning down slope.
This report was 11 minutes old when I posted it here. I guess I won't complain about us driving in it, those folks down in Santa Cruz have much more of a problem with it than we do.