Tassajara: July 5 update

I am sitting here eating fudge mint cookies (all natural, of course) and feeling very relieved. I spoke with Gina a while ago and she has decided it's time to come out of Tassajara. She has already done so much...nearly two weeks of intensive physical labor to prepare the monastery for fire, should it arrive. There are still about 20 people down in there; they can't rely on fire crews for support anymore as a fire burning near Santa Barbara has taken first priority on the state fire list.

So here's your prayer assignment:
1) For Gina to get a ride out of Tassajara quickly
2) For the road to be clear so she can get through to Jamesburg, on the other side
3) For the safety of the remaining folks who are choosing to stay through, no matter what happens.

The current status, according to the Sitting With Fire blog, is that things are in a kind of holding zone... the fire is still very close, probably just about a mile and a half, but relatively cool temperatures have kept it in check. Temperatures are expected to rise over the next few days. Sounds like what they are encountering is not a raging wall of flame but rather scattered pockets of fire here and there. So best case scenario is that these fires will either by-pass or cause minimal damage to Tassajara, since it is thoroughly watered down now with a sprinkler system. But this is a fire, a powerful element, and is very much subject to what the weather does. And even the best case scenarios don't project the Basin Complex fire ending anytime soon... possibly not even until the late fall/winter rains comes.

If all goes well, Gina will be in a safer zone soon, I'll feel much more at ease, and this blog can go back to sabbatical type content... what's that saying? "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."