It was just after two o'clock yesterday afternoon when I first saw the plume of smoke in the eastern hills. I was in San Jose at the time. From where I stood, it looked as though the fire was somewhere between San Jose and Morgan Hill.

It's funny how distance plays tricks on one's eyes. As I traveled south on 101 yesterday evening, the smoke seemed to travel with me. By the time I got home, the fire appeared to be in Henry Coe State Park.

People in the neighborhood were congregated at street corners. I didn't join any of them, but I imagine most folks were conjecturing about what started the blaze, how big the fire was or would, or how many firefighters were responding. Perhaps a few were relating how they knew somebody who lived on one of the many pieces of private land surrounding the park.

As I took this photo, I wondered if the fire was burning through areas I hiked back in May, charring the landscape I had ventured through and photographed. (I could have sworn I wrote a trip report about my hike to Mt. Sizer, but apparently I didn't.)

According to the Mercury News, the Lick Fire (named after Lick Observatory, which is ten miles north of the fire) has burned more than 3,000 acres of brush and vegetation in and around Henry Coe State Park, near Booze Lake and Mt. Sizer. One would think they would call it the Henry Coe Fire or the Booze Fire for geographic accuracy, but that might make too much sense.

No fatalities have been reported and only one "out building" has been lost, but the fire is still zero percent contained, which means plenty of land will burn before it's through. I'm hoping the wind and weather will cooperate so firefighters can get a handle on the blaze.

Update: For the latest news and statistics on the fire straight from the source, check out Cal-Fire's Incident Information Page.