Per Cal Fire the Sam Jones incident was been fully contained at 1400 hours today. Total acreage 3,468. (August 4th, Day 3) Great Job Everyone!!
9:30 am – from Inciweb:
Incident Overview
The Ponderosa Fire started on Saturay, August 1, at approximately 7:45 in the evening. The fire is located in the Ventana Wilderness in very steep, rugged terrain. The cause is still under investigation. Approximately 350 acres have burned to date. The fire is being aggressively fought by fire crews constructing line on the fire’s edge where possible and going indirect with the use of dozers outside of the wilderness boundaries. Also assisting handcrews is the use of helicopters and air tankers dropping both retardant and water. No structors are threatened at this time.
Ponderosa and Nacimiento Campgrounds are closed. Highway 1 is open. Nacimiento-Ferguson Road, as well as the Los Burros/Willow Creek Road at Highway 1 are closed to the public, however they are open to residents.
Basic Information
Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Under Investigation
Date of Origin Friday July 31st, 2009 aprox 07:45 PM
Location Monterey Ranger District, Ventana Wilderness
Incident Commander James E. Smith
Current Situation
Total Personnel 602
Size 360 acres
Percent Contained 16%
Fuels Involved
Oak woodlands and Chaparral
Fire Behavior
Moderate
Significant Events
Little fire movement occurred last evening dueto marine layer influence.
Outlook
Planned Actions
Today’s goal is to taking advantage of the opportunities to take direct suppression action wherever possible.
Growth Potential
High
Terrain Difficulty
Extreme
Remarks
CCIIMT-7, Jim Smith’s type 2 team has assuemed command as of 0600 on 8/3/2009. Evaluating Unified Command with Fort Hunter Liggett.
Current Weather
Wind Conditions 5-10 mph S
Temperature 90 degrees
Humidity 18%
6:30 am – Good morning, everyone! Checking in for updates and will post as they come in.
in your opinion from experience…even if the fire is contained by lets say early next week. Will the Nacimento road open for the public soon after (within a few days) or will they close for the season?
Alina Phillips – in my experience, the Army & the USFS will open it back up as soon as it is safe. Last I heard, though, is that a burn-out operation was going on from Nacimiento Rd. Besides the danger, there is the firefighter traffic. I doubt it will be closed for the season, but I do suspect it will be closed for a week or two after the fire is “out.”