Flames and black plumes of smoke shot high above the Boardwalk in Seaside Park, where the fire began after 2 p.m. Within hours, strong gusts of wind swept the fire north along the adjoining Boardwalk of Seaside Heights, where a roller coaster had sat mangled in the ocean for months and became a symbol of the storm's damage.
"Opening the Door to Bon" by Nyima Dakpa, a paperback available in the Rubin's gift shop, gives basic instructions, like visualizing Shen Lha Okar, the Buddha of Compassion, on a lotus throne with sun and moon cushions: "On Shen Lha Okar's right side are flames of fire and gusts of wind.
For example, suppose a camper lights a fire, a sudden gust of wind fans the fire, the fire gets out of control and the forest burns down.
The house withstood gusts of 120mph and doubled the fire resistance required by building regulations.
At last, she reached the top and, to her relief, saw a blazing fire blowing gusts of smoke across the sky.
"The mountain terrain, five years of drought and wind gusts of over 20 mph all drove a fire over 11 miles in 13 hours.
As fire managers predicted, winds with gusts of more than 20 miles per hour pushed the flames westward toward homes on Saturday afternoon, Curry said.
The fire was stoked by wind gusts of up to 70 mph (115 kph) that were expected to remain in the area along with low humidity through the week, the National Weather Service forecast.
The fast-moving cell sent powerful gusts of wind that changed the direction of the fire and sent clouds of smoke billowing above the firefighters' location, according to several officials familiar with the investigation.
The fire was burning primarily south and west of Saratoga Springs, where wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour (56 kph) were expected to confound firefighting efforts, Lee said.
