Fred and Gretchen Gibbs writing at 11:11 AM 6/16/2008 Terry & Karen Long told us about the BD website displaying photos taken of the fire. My husband, Fred Gibbs, is a retired SJFD engineer and now shoots sports photography so when the plumes of smoke were encircling our home, he told me to start packing all our photos and important things and he was going to go take a look to see where the fire was. I envisioned him to be gone a few minutes and return home to evacuate but that was not to be as he saw the drama unfold as he drove up Martin Road and pulled over into a field across from the Long's home. It is there he took several photos of the smoke, fire and aircraft flying above the homes. The photos I have attached below are just some of what he took and as you can see, it was terrifying for anyone close to these flames. The first photo is the Long's home in the forefront and behind that was the monster flames encroaching the area close to BD Lavender Farm, Fire Station and Jessen's property. The fourth photo shows a fireball 80+ft in the air above a redwood tree as it explodes. We never left as it turned out the direction of the fire was heading away from our home on Cathedral Park Drive, making a path towards Smith Grade. Even though I was upset at the time, these pictures captured the ferocity of the fire. Fred knew he had to stay there much longer than I wanted him to be to get some really amazing pictures. Thought you might be interested in seeing some of his photos. I wish I could say something like "enjoy the photos" but realize some people might be traumatized by them. What I see however, are some real heroes fighting to contain this fire. I am so thankful and grateful for all the extraordinary work these hard working firefighters did to save so many homes in this area we love so much. Sincerely, Gretchen Gibbs