UCSD has cancelled classes for tomorrow; San Diego Unified school district has closed schools for the remainder of the week.

People are urged to cut back on the use of electricity, and to stay indoors and avoid physical activity in order to reduce smoke inhalation. I’m currently at home with all my windows shut and all my lights off.

I talked to my boss earlier, who was evacuated from Del Mar last night. He’s currently attending the Human Genetics conference that’s going on downtown, so I guess that’s still up and running. Several people have asked if I know if the Neuroscience conference is going to be canceled (it’s scheduled to run Nov 3-7) – I really have no idea, and there are no updates on the Society for Neuroscience’s website.

Estimates are that 1250 homes have been lost. Last I heard, 500,000 people have been evacuated, as compared to 50,000 in the 2003 Cedar fires. It seems like reverse 911 has been doing a great job of getting people out of danger in plenty of time, so kudos to them. The fact that that many people have been displaced with only 1 death and a handful of injuries is amazing. Keep up the good work, San Diego.

For more frequently updated coverage, check out CatDirtSez, Sign On San Diego’s fireblog (finally working), and SD:Dialed In. As always, if anyone needs a place to crash, let me know. I’ll be here all day, plugging away on a rough draft of a grant. That is, if I can tear myself away from the media.