Cone Peak Flames

This afternoon, I noticed smoke plumes coming from the north east, which worried me a bit. I kept trying to get information online, but nada.

About 8:30 pm, Kimball calls me about what he’s seeing in the thermal images around the upper reaches of Cone Peak Rd. He sends me a thermal, and it does not look good. I look on his website (http://www.surcoast.com/fire.html) and view a thermal he uploaded at around 4, and then another around 8:30. This was spooky, as it showed considerable growth.

I called OES, 4 times, before I got any information I considered even half-way reliable. Eventually, what I was told was that what I was seeing was a 500 acre “slop-over” from the Indians. The USFS is aware of it, and has people there. It did get some air attack this afternoon. According to firefighterblog.blogspot.com, IC Mike D. is expecting it to reach N-F Rd in 24 hours.

Tonight, at 11 pm, I could see the glow of the flames east of Cone Peak. Of course, in the dark, it looked large to me. At midnight, I could see nothing. Whether that was due to smoke, control or any other factor, I have no way of knowing.

As most of us up here know, today there was a strong wind out of the north, very high temperatures, and low humidity. A perfect storm.

Tassajara update: Fire went right through the Zen Center. Lost the birdhouse, the bathroom by the pool, and some of the lower garden, but the rest survived in tact, and all 5 people who stayed behind to save the Zen Center survived as well. A great save by 5 courageous and dedicated people. Congratulations!!

StationKATE

So, keep an eye out. It’s not over, yet.