NWS has issued red flag watches and warnings for much of California due to record high temperatures, low RH recovery, and high winds. Be cautious.
Fire Restrictions Take Effect in Los Padres National Forest
GOLETA, CA, January 10, 2014…Due to extremely dry vegetation and an increasing fire danger, Los Padres National Forest officials today announced that Level III fire restrictions will go into effect beginning tomorrow, January 11, 2014. The following restrictions will be rigorously enforced until this Forest Order expires:
Wood and charcoal fires are prohibited in all areas of Los Padres National Forest except for designated Campfire Use sites; however persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are allowed to use portable stoves and lanterns using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel outside of designated Campfire Use Sites. California Campfire Permits are available for free download from the Los Padres National Forest website (http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf). You must clear all flammable material for a distance of 10 feet in all directions from your camp stove, have a shovel available, and ensure that a responsible person attends the stove at all times when it is in use.
Thanks for the reminder and caution, Kate.
thanks Kate I woke to wind howling and thought thank God this was
not the case when Pfeiffer fire started.
We already dodged a bullet last week. As some of you may know, A traveler stopped by the school, and reported to me that she saw a fire at “a bridge…called Mill Creek, or something like that”. I dropped everything, called 911, who transferred me to CALFIRE, and I relayed the report to them. Next, I got into my fish truck and shot over to the Pacific Valley Station, and found Casey Allen. We both raced to Mill Creek, and sure enough, we could spot smoke mixed with the fog wisps up on Alms Ridge. Casey thought it might be to the north, so we checked up by Limekiln, which was clear. Back to Mill…I took a side trip up Nacimiento past the three mile marker, and ran into the Chumash tribal engine. We could not spot anything from the turnout overlook, where you could see the whole canyon up to Chalk Peak, so I headed back to Mill, where I ran into Dave Seefeldt, who had also spotted the smoke all the way from Lucia, and out of concern, had raced there to check things out. Next, both LPF and CALFIRE arrived in force, and the guys started hunting around in the underbrush between the bridge, and Duncan and Avalon’s home. John Knight showed up with the BSVFB engine, and as we were talking, I heard the incredible news on Jon’s radio…They found some jerk, who had made a campsite for himself deep amidst the thicket, and had built an open fire!.,..right in the middle of the tinder-dry poison oak and willow!!! The next communication was that the fool was ticketed (or taken into custody), and the fire was extinguished. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! Imagine the size of the fire he had going for the smoke to make it all the way up Alms Ridge! Well, we all returned to our work VERY relieved, but oh, my…what a scary adrenaline-rush. What if that visitor had not driven by at that moment? What if she did not stop by the school to report the flames and smoke observed? What if the response by all of us had been a few minutes slower? Just one flame into the thick underbrush, and an explosive inferno could have taken out the entire Mill Creek drainage, Nacarubi, and whatever else. Duncan and Avalon were away at work, so the fire would have got a good head start undetected. It would have been too late. So, we can all be thankful for the miraculous series of subtle events that saved us all! This story really underscores the fragility of our situation, livin’ in a record-breaking tinderbox. Just one clueless clown, who does not care, and one moment of time, and we could be toast! It’s scary to even think of it. Vigilance, vigilance, vigilance!