Living in the mountains brings this kind of risk. I think most residents know this. When people ask me about how my house will fare in a fire, I reply that it's made of kindling. I have no expectation that it can be saved, or that firefighters will risk their lives to save it.

When I first moved here over 10 years ago, I called the local fire marshal to come give me advice on how to protect my home from fire. It's a wooden structure on the top of a ridge with dense forest all the way around it. His number one suggestion? Make sure I have good insurance.

Today the winds have calmed a bit, aiding fire fighters, and now the smoke is everywhere, including up here. We had a second fire yesterday afternoon near Ben Lomond that burned 15 acres that was about a mile from here. The wind is scary, as it toppled a tree onto a power line, starting that second fire. Lucky for us, there were already air tankers and helichoppers in flight, and they made suppression of this second fire a priority. It was controlled by 6pm.