Towns effect from fire?

There's probably a strong early morning temperature inversion that traps the smoke and ash near the ground at the fire site, as the day goes on, the ground heats up and hot "bubbles" of air (called thermals) rise up through the inversion and carry the pollutants higher. Also, later in the day the land heats up more than the ocean and the sea breeze starts, which carries the smoke inland from Santa Barbara to Bakersfield.