Smoke: There is a significant fire producing smoke relatively close to the southern Santa Cruz Mountains today. The source is the Timber Fire in the Big Sur/Monterey County area. Why are you smelling it all the way in the Santa Cruz Mountains? The important piece is today's atmospheric pattern. Smoke doesn't necessarily travel in a straight line at ground level. 💨A combination of: -Onshore/marine flow along the coast. -Mountain-valley channeling Smoke being carried aloft and then mixing back down -Relatively weak atmospheric mixing in some periods can bring smoke from the Monterey/Big Sur fires northward and into the Santa Cruz Mountains. Wildfire smoke can travel hundreds of miles, and terrain and the height at which the smoke is carried strongly affect where it eventually reaches the ground. There's another reason it can be particularly noticeable in the mountains: smoke can settle into valleys and hollows, especially when the atmosphere isn't mixing vigorously. So you can have a strong wood-smoke smell even when the visible haze isn't dramatic. 🚒 If you think there is a fire near you, look for corroborating signs. 🔥A visible smoke column, ash/embers, rapidly worsening visibility, or an official fire notification should be treated more seriously than an isolated smell of smoke. When in doubt, call 911 When wildfire threatens, accurate information matters.   The CAL FIRE Incident page provides a statewide view of active emergencies, including incident locations, acreage, containment, evacuation information, maps and official updates from responding agencies. During the January 2025 Los Angeles fires, more than 25 million people visited fire.ca.gov for trusted, near real-time information from first responders.