The fire in the eastern foothills of Santa Clara Valley began almost 3 days ago and was first spotted from the James Lick Observatory - so has been dubbed the Lick Fire. The first day and a half, an enormous plume of smoke could be seen rising in the hills by south San Jose and Morgan Hill from Henry Coe State Park.  Smoke and haze hung over the eastern range; it was in contrast to the rest of the area between there and the coastal foothills, where the sky remained blue.

But chiarascura didn't last. For a day now, the haze has thickened. Smoke is pouring in, and not much of it seems to be escaping.

We can't see the plume anymore. We can't even see that bank of hills anymore. Too much smoke.

This morning I drove my kids to school in and near downtown San Jose (Notre Dame High School and Bellarmine College Prep). Heading east on Blossom Hill Road, we were shocked at the eeriely discolored sun hanging low in the sky. It was a pinkish red, a look that you might see just at sunset on a fall or summer evening - but not when the sun was so high in the sky. (Photo above taken with Palm Treo.) It was just creepy.

Because the fire is located in a remote region of the park, with rough terrain and no roads, it's difficult to get close enough to even fight it.

Often fires begin because of a cigarette tossed carelessly. Earlier this summer, a fire ignited when someone used a power mower to cut back brush and a spark it threw ironically began the blaze that clearing the brush was intended to prevent.

This fire was said to have been caused by a person burning things in a barrell at a private hunting camp. No one has been named, but this mishap turned nightmare could turn into a financial liabilty approaching two million dollars. The fire may grow to 30,000 acres and will go down as one of the largest ever in the Silicon Valley area.

Today the heat will be at a high for the week, which means that the smoke will continue to accumulate, firefighters will still contend with extreme conditions and the fire will have no natural incentive to stop. When will it be contained? No one knows, but they have a long way to go.

Rain would be good right about now.

The Los Gatos Observer is on it again!  A recent brush fire in east Los Gatos was quickly contained by firefighters working on land and from the sky. Fantastic photos with details of the event are found on the Observer's recent article, Los Gatos Brush Fire Quickly Contained.