Yep, It's Wildfire Season

Yesterday we saw the first wildfire visible from our house.  It was mostly grass burning according to the oaklandlivefire Twitter feed, and was approximately a half mile away from us in the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve. We were impressed with the response.  I took these photos from our second floor deck with my Olympus SH-1. (Click on a photo to see a larger version.)

Long view of the grass fire area

Helicopter coming in for a look

Close up of fire area

A second helicopter on the scene

And a third

Close up of helicopter over fire area

Helicopter with water bucket heading in to fire area

One of the three planes that came to survey the area

Another helicopter with bucket suspended below

Today we can't see any sign of the fire from our deck.  We're hoping this is the only incident we'll have during the peak fire season which ends in November.

Now for the tamer side of life in the Oakland Hills - sunset pastels:

Whisps over Round Top

Clouds over the ridge

Pink streak on the bay side - regular distance

Close up

Mount Diablo cloud bank

Round Top

Bay side

Taken from a friend's home with my iPhone 5c camera:

A different perspective on sunset over the bay.
The eucalyptus trees on the right will soon be gone and the view will be even better.