Just letting you know that the fire -- which as of late this afternoon has consumed thousands of acres since it started at around 5:30 a.m. this morning -- is "completely out of control" as of 4:30 p.m. San Francisco firefighters have been deployed to the scene. What with the serious winds blowing in the area, no one knows just when the fire will start to die down. Wineries have been lost, homes and school evacuated, and Arnold has declared a state emergency.

And here are more emergency numbers for those of you who need it:

• CalFire Info Line On Evacuations -- 1-831-335-6717
• Santa Cruz Animal Shelter -- 1-831-454-7303
• Santa Clara County Fairgounds Open For Animal Boarding And RVs -- 1-408-494-3100

The good news? No one has died yet. That, ans Highway 17 remains open.

For those of you fire victims with large animals (i.e., horses, emus, et al.) or even not so large animals (i.e., Sprinkles, et al.), a Capitola reader just informed us that you can take your beloved pets to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. Due to today's raging wildfire, Evacuation facilities are set up there, and you can find them at 2601 East Lake Ave., Watsonville. For more information, call 408-335-5355.

Also, Santa Cruz Sentinel gives out the following handy info:

Road closures: Eureka Canyon Road north of Hames Road; Highland Way at Summit.
Red Cross: Staging at Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Ave., Watsonville.
Animal Services: Santa Cruz Animal Services helping with large animal evacuations. 408-454-7303.

Also, residents with animals can also bring them to Sprig Lake on the
eastside of Hecker Pass Highway. (Thanks for the info, reader.) And as always, be careful out there.

Huge plumes of smoke can be seen mushrooming over the Santa Cruz Mountains just above Ben Lomand due to a rapidly growing wildfire. It's gone from 100 acres to well over 1,000 in just a couple of hours. The fire allegedly sparked at the intersection of Summit and Loma Prieta roads.

No lives, as of now, have been lost.

Hundreds of homes, a few compounds, and several schools (C.T. English Middle School, Loma Prieta Elementary School in Los Gatos and Mount Madonna School in Watsonville) have been evacuated. Summit Road at Mount Madonna Road and Pole Line Road are closed. Highway 152 might close down before noon.

Here is some flaming footage. Really, the blaze is spectacular, folks. If you have access to a TV, tune into any station; they're all hysterically on-the-scene live. (Cheryl Jennings is on the phone with a fire department chief right now, practically blaming him and his department for being ill-prepared to fight the fire... WHILE THE FIRE IS RAGING. Real nice.)

The Gate reports that "there [is] no estimate of when the fire would be controlled. The cause has not been determined."

Oh, and will someone let us know where residents can bring their animals for shelter? They tend to get left behind in these situations. Thanks.