HWY17

[Drunk Monk]

School is in session tomorrow. The fire is 10% contained and moving he other direction, so they feel confident.

[thatguy]

School is in session tomorrow. The fire is 10% contained and moving he other direction, so they feel confident.

The mountain community up there just got this page posted:

http://mountainbulletin.com/2016/09/26/l...nt-status/

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Good intel, tg. Does that page update? 

I've been watching the web all day, which is not as informative as I'd like. All the news was looking at the debate. Been using goog and this fire tracker: http://firetracker.scpr.org/loma-fire-santa-clara-2016

Tg - how's your air? I couldn't smell it last night at the bungalow (I'm at my mom's tonight). There were warnings to keep windows shut but that wasn't happening at our AC-free bungalow last night for damn sure. So hellishly hot. Hope it's cooler tonight.

[thatguy]

Good intel, tg. Does that page update? 

I've been watching the web all day, which is not as informative as I'd like. All the news was looking at the debate. Been using goog and this fire tracker: http://firetracker.scpr.org/loma-fire-santa-clara-2016

Tg - how's your air? I couldn't smell it last night at the bungalow (I'm at my mom's tonight). There were warnings to keep windows shut but that wasn't happening at our AC-free bungalow last night for damn sure. So hellishly hot. Hope it's cooler tonight.

The link I posted actually references this page:

https://groups.io/g/95033talk/wiki/Fire-Assistance-Page

...not sure if that page updates on its own, but I've been refreshing it and has pretty recent traffic.

I have a hepa filter, but I also have a portable AC that I bought recently and if I use the AC (which I've needed to this week), it suck in air from outside and I don't know if the hepa filter can keep up. I should probably connect the output of one into the input of the other.

But I haven't noticed any smell or smoke, any more than from the Sobranes fire. I think the smoke has been blowing NE for the most part. 

Check out these pix: https://www.facebook.com/josh.edelson/me...266&type=3

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Tara went to school today.  MMS is at the lower border of the evac zone and they've gotten special permission to hold classes (meaning they can all drive around the barricades).  A few of the MMS staff posted some fb photos.  Things seem okay up there, only all the kids must stay inside during breaks.

[Greg]

Good news. Unless you were hoping to miss a few days . . . .

[Drunk Monk]

The Loma Fire is now 22% contained and moving away from MMS. They anticipate having it under control by Monday. The cooler weather was a blessing. I saw the billowing cloud from summit yesterday. It was terrifying and awesome. Strangely I have yet to smell much smoke.

[thatguy]

From the valley it looked like it had grown, but the fire crews were doing some controlled burns to help contain it. Here's a video that surfaced yesterday taken by a UPS driver right after it started:

https://www.facebook.com/CarlosDCanche/v...077675888/

They're investigating if it might have started at an illegal grow up in the hills.

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

They're investigating if it might have started at an illegal grow up in the hills.

--tg

ffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuq.  I was worried that might be a cause.  CA has got to get on top of regulating growers.  They are really messing up the environment on so many levels.  



Well, I shouldn't be so quick to judge.  We'll see, right?  

34% contained now.  Doing my rain dance for this weekend.

[Drunk Monk]

The Loma Fire is 81% contained now.  Didn't see any smoke coming over summit, but it was overcast.

[Drunk Monk]

Stuck @ lark. 1/2 hour 2 go 2 miles. Accident past Lexington. Got a long way until TGIF.

[Drunk Monk]

Loma fire is contained.  http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Lo...968082.php

[Drunk Monk]

used to be that i could get on the road around 6:40 and make it to work in a little over an hour.  but since september started, the commute shifted, and now it takes me over an hour and a half even if i get on the road by 6:15.  

plus the los gatos snarl is worse then ever.  sometimes it takes up to half an hour just to get through los gatos.  

my daily commute accordioned out from an hour plus to an hour and a half plus.  

[cranefly]

I became curious about this longer commute time and tried researching it -- using Google.
My conclusion -- hasty and likely faulty -- is that it's the booming job market in the South Bay coupled with lack of affordable housing.

To be honest, I wasn't entirely aware there was a booming job market in the South Bay; then again, I'm a bit out of the loop.
As for housing, here's what's going on in Mountain View.  Earlier this year the average time on the market for a house was 9 days.  The latest data shows that half the houses currently on the market are now over 20 days.

That seems a clear sign that the housing market is cooling off.  Will this make housing more affordable and bring workers out of the boondocks to live closer?  Maybe, but that will likely take time.

Enough blather...

Apologies for associating Santa Cruz with the boondocks.

[Greg]

Get that girl to college and head back to Fremont!