This evening's fire update:
The Witch Fire has gotten into the Ranch - at least 6 houses have burned in Rancho Santa Fe, with more expected to go down tonight. The winds are quieting down around my house, hopefully that's a good sign for the rest of North County.
The Rice fire in Fallbrook has taken out 100 houses already, and all of Fallbrook has been evacuated. The huge plume of smoke looks like it is really rolling, due west.
The evacuation area for the Witch Fire is from Sorrento Valley Rd. to the 78 freeway in Carlsbad, and from the I-15 to the I-5 freeways.
Here's a view looking south at the Witch fire, sunrise to sunset:
more commentary/maps/photos at this blog:
http://and-still-i-persist.com/
Residents in all other neighborhoods within Del Mar are encouraged to prepare to evacuate to Qualcomm.
Fire officials report 70 homes destroyed in Escondido, 50 in Poway, six in Rancho Santa Fe and untold numbers in Rancho Bernardo, with the Witch Creek fire still roaring unchecked across northern San Diego.
An article in the U-T about Rancho Santa Fe:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071022-1224-bn22rancho.html
FIRE UPDATE 8PM
Fire officials say 500 homes and 100 businesses have been destroyed by the wildfires in San Diego County.